Sins of the Past
by Demona3870
Summary: Sequel to "A Crime of Passion", set at the end of Season 4 with major modifications to "Crouching Binome Hidden Virus." Bob's reformatting command worked and Megabyte is no longer a threat to Mainframe... but the damage has been done... (see Author's Note at the beginning).
1. Not Good Enough

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in ReBoot. The only claim I have on characters are ones that come into play in later chapters. I am making no money off of this, but am enjoying borrowing the characters for a short time.**

_Author's Note: This story is meant to be my interpretation of how Season 4 could have ended. However, CHBV does not allow for a smooth transition to do this. For season 4 to blend successfully into this story, disregard practically everything in CBHV with the exception of Megabyte's capture and Bob's reformatting program. _

_The ReBoot Timeline used in this series is as follows: Day = decade/ Hour= year/ Minute=month/ Cycle=week/ Second=day/ Microsecond=hour/ Nano=minute/ Nanosecond=second_

_**Sins of the Past**_

Chapter 1: Not Good Enough

Matrix found Bob at his apartment. After having defeated Megabyte by isolating him in a cell chamber and reformatting him to a data sprite, the Guardian had contacted Turbo for a private meeting regarding the changed virus. It was decided Megabyte would remain imprisoned until Bob took him to the Supercomputer and the slowly rebuilding Guardian Collective. Bob said nothing more than this, and walked out of the principal's office.

Now, the renegade was standing outside the door of his hero's apartment, flinching at the loud noises coming from inside. Doors slammed, boxes were thrown, and Matrix felt unease in his heart. Bob sounded mad, and that was an understatement. For whatever reason, Matrix had no fear of the games, or of viruses like Megabyte, but facing the Guardian in this state left him cold.

Summoning the courage to knock, he held his breath as he waited for a reply. "Bob?" The door opened, but no one stood there. Matrix looked in at the sound of shuffling, and saw Bob packing up some files on a book shelf. He had changed attire, and was now wearing dirt stained blue jeans, a plain red shirt, and the silver armband on his left wrist where Glitch linked to him. Matrix frowned at the variety of scars on his arms, not having seen them before because of the silver body armor. Although Bob's code was returned to him, repairing his damaged hair and healing his silver web degradation scars, it didn't heal those he earned surviving; another blow to his perception that Bob was infallible.

"What is it, Matrix?"

The green renegade jumped slightly at the even toned question, but Bob was still focused on his packing. Just like in the Principal Office, he was avoiding eye contact.

"How are you, Bob?" Matrix found himself wincing. The words sounded hollow.

A dry laugh, empty of humor, filled the apartment in response. "Peachy."

"Bob-"

"You said you've been having a hard time finding an apartment?" Bob cut him off.

"Yes," Matrix responded, surprised at the question.

"Well, you should go down to the front office and put in a request for this one, before someone else gets it." Bob sealed off a box and started filling another.

Matrix felt his heart drop, but refused to accept it. "You're moving out? Great, it's about time you moved in with Dot!"

The files being packed were slammed hard into the box. Bob seemed to take a nano before he spoke. "I'm taking Megabyte back to the Guardians for study regarding the reformatting program."

"Well, I'm sure you don't need to put your stuff in storage, you shouldn't be gone for more than a cycle. I can watch the apartment for you," Matrix gushed, suddenly feeling like the young sprite he used to be, helpless to the doubt building in his mind.

"I'm not storing anything. I'm transferring."

A blow from Megabyte would have been less traumatizing. "You're leaving? But... you can't! You're Mainframe's Guardian!"

"Was," Bob corrected him. "Guardian 626 will be arriving here within the second." He finished emptying the book shelf and moved to the table by the couch. "His name is Flash Drive, and he was the best of the last class before Daemon's take over. This will be his first system, but he's gained valuable experience from the war. Though I'm sure you could teach him a few things."

"No."

"Ok, if you don't want the place, maybe he will," Bob deliberately changed the subject. He stood with the box and moved it towards his garage. Matrix blocked him.

"I don't care about the damn apartment, you can't leave!"

Bob maneuvered around him. "Sorry, bud, it's already done."

"What about Mainframe? What about everything you've done, every citizen you've helped-"

Bob continued into the garage. "Flash will be doing the same-."

Matrix grabbed the edges of the box, holding it still, and forced his face into Bob's. "What about Dot?!" Brown eyes met violet, and Matrix almost shuddered under the coldness in them.

"What about her?" he asked, his voice light and carefree and deliberately fake. "She's a big girl, she can take care of herself." He pulled the box from Matrix's hands. "Besides, she has you and Enzo, right? One big happy family that works together, plays together, believes the same lies together." He placed the box in the car. "I'd say she has nothing to worry about." He moved back into the apartment, leaving Matrix standing in shock.

Not even when they were in a tiff did Bob seem so angry. Matrix was stung by Bob's low blow regarding Matrix siding with the other Bob, but knew that was the least of his worries right now. With a sense of defeat, Matrix's chin dropped to his chest. Dot had really broken Bob's heart. He was finally just showing it.

The renegade's fist clenched at his side. He couldn't give up, he couldn't let Bob leave. But he wasn't the one who needed to convince Bob. He followed into the apartment and heard the Guardian moving around in his bedroom. Resisting the urge to physically knock sense into his idol, he quietly left the apartment, immediately pulling up a VidWindow to Dot when he was out of earshot.

/

Bob packed the last of his personal effects from his bedroom and walked towards the garage, refusing to look back one last time. He stopped dead at the door, erasing the surprise from his face to a blank stare.

"Don't do this."

"I'm amazed you found time in your schedule to stop by. What a waste." He moved forward to brush her aside, but Dot stood firmly in his path.

"I know you're angry, but running away isn't going to fix this."

"Angry?" he asked, his voice incredibly soft with spite. "Why would I possibly be angry?"

"Bob. Talk to me, help me make it better."

"Oh, end file already. Your pep talks may work on everyone else, but I'm tired of hearing them."

Dot grabbed the box from him, threw it onto a table, and pushed him down onto the couch. He fell back, surprised, and went to stand when she leaned down and put her face inches from his face. "Well I'm just starting!" she fumed. "You think this didn't affect me? Do you think I don't want to crawl under a rock and delete? I made the wrong choice in front of hundreds of citizens of Mainframe, I made a fool out of all of us to that Virus-!"

"Is that why you're so upset? Worried you won't get re-elected as Command Dot Com next hour?" Bob cut in.

Dot's eyes went wide. "What in the net kind of question is that?! Of course not!"

"Then maybe you're sorry to see your lover go," Bob seethed. "Perhaps you should be saying goodbye to him, he's down in cell block 2."

Dot recoiled as if she was slapped, her response dying on her lips. Bob felt shame fill his heart and he couldn't bear to look at her. No, he needed to get out of there, before he said anything more to hurt her.

As he stood, the anger from earlier came slowly back, breaking away his sorrow. He was doing it again, falling for her, pushing down his pain to defend her first. Always, it was her feelings, her needs, her pain first. He had to stop loving her; it was only going to tear him apart. The anger building would soon explode if he didn't get away.

"Dot, you need to go. Your new Guardian will be here soon." He walked towards the garage.

Dot shook her head. "No, I won't accept this. I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about," Bob remarked roughly, exasperated. "It's done."

"It's done when I say it is," Dot argued, stepping forward and poking a finger in his chest. "I am not leaving until you talk, because I am not letting you leave angry." She shook her head, "No, by the User, I don't want you to leave at all!"

Bob's ire was building to a boiling point. "Trust me. If you don't leave right now, you're going to regret it."

"And just what are you going to do, Guardian? Reformat me into a Virus, because it's not like you'll delete me."

His voice dropped to a soft, menacing whisper. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Dot refused to be intimidated. "I'm saying that I am not scared of empty threats, especially when they're coming from a sprite whose heart beats to protect his friends and his home." She stepped over to him, her voice softening. "There is too much good in you to do anything else, and I'm sorry that my mistakes have upset you." Her eyes shined with the despair of those mistakes, with the guilt of her bad decisions and the pain she had put him through. "Please, give us a chance to fix this before you do something _you'll_ regret."

Bob closed his eyes and sank back against the wall. He heard her come around in front of him, felt her move close, and then her hand touched his cheek as she whispered, "Please."

His hand shot up and clamped around her wrist, pulling it roughly from him. "Don't," he hissed, his eyes narrowed at her. "Don't try and act like we can just smile and laugh and be all right again." He registered her shocked expression, a deep sadness building in her eyes. "This isn't some small cut that can be fixed with a patch, Dot. You turned your back on us. On me."

Dot leaned back, putting distance between them. "Bob…"

"Have you already forgotten what I went through to get back here?" he whispered darkly. "Did you just decide to ignore everything I told you, everything I _showed_ you like it doesn't matter anymore?"

Dot tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go of her arm. "You of all sprites know I did things that went against my format as a Guardian all so I could come back and protect the only sprite I have ever loved."

He dropped her wrist and pushed away from the wall, bearing down on her as she backspaced across his living room. "And what do I get for it? I get pushed aside for a sprite who wasn't scarred, who didn't have the dark memories of the Web, who didn't fight through with you to the end of the system crash, or Constantia or Daemon." He kept advancing on her until he pinned her between himself and the front door.

"Stop it-."

"I was abandoned for a sprite who you barely knew for a cycle before throwing yourself into his arms and promising yourself to him!"

Dot's face crumbled, and he could see her struggling to fight off tears. "Stop…"

"And you know what really takes the cake?" Bob laughed coldly, "Oh, you're going to love this. I nearly deleted myself to change who I was to look more like the Guardian _you_ wanted. After all, that's what matters most, right? It's not about the sprite, but how he looks, and he has to look perfect, right?! No damages to remind fragile little Dot that we went through a war to save Mainframe!"

"Stop it!" she screamed and shoved him away. She turned and pressed her forehead against the door, grabbing onto the frame to keep her steady, her breathing ragged.

Bob stepped up behind her and leaned close to her ear, his quiet tone doing little to soften the sting of his words. "Don't cry, Dot. I love you so much I made sure to get a handsome little Guardian to take my place. Perfect and gullible, just as you like them."

A strangled cry fell from her throat, and Bob felt a cold pit in his stomach. _User, what am I doing?_ He had the urge to hold her and comfort her… but he backed away. "I told you, you should have left," he whispered.

She didn't move, only leaned against the door with a hand over her mouth and her head bowed. Bob felt a sudden pressure in his chest, the same feeling he had when she whispered at the wedding, "Bob, _please,_" and her hand grabbed the other Bob's hand, her choice made clear. He closed his eyes and couldn't believe his heart was still breaking.

A small chirp drew his attention down. _'You can still fix this,'_ Glitch said, always the supporting friend of whom he had so few left.

Bob hesitated, his eyes looking back at the woman he loved, a woman he was effectively breaking into as many pieces as his heart.

'_You still love her. Tell her.'_

Bob took a breath, but as he continued looking at her, all he could see was the rejection in her eyes there on the altar, his confession of love meaning nothing to her. He shook his head at Glitch and sighed. Reaching for the last box, he closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Dot."

"You _bastard_."

Bob's breath caught. In all the time he had known her, he had never once heard her speak in such a tone, so soft, so cold, so angry. "How _dare_ you turn this on me?" He looked back at her, seeing her back still turned to him, her fingers digging into the frame, her head resting against the door.

"What?"

"Who betrayed who, Bob?" she hissed. "You want to be upset that I almost married someone who looked exactly like you, acted exactly like you? Fine!" Dot turned her eyes to him, narrowed and burning with anger. "But don't stand there and make me suffer when you were out down-timing some random vixen Dell bent on keeping you as her little toy in the Web!"

Bob reeled, nearly dropping the box in his hands. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words were formed. Not cycles ago, he had prepared himself for this, knowing the risk of sharing those memories with Dot. And yet, with everything that had happened since the destruction of Daemon's virus, he had allowed himself to forget that he had put Dot through his suffering.

The harsh reality of her words stung worse than the Web's atmosphere.

"I made a choice," Bob defended. "I did what I thought was right, to get back home." _'To you,'_ he thought, but couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"And I also made a choice, Bob." Dot moved for the first time from the door, turning to face him fully. Her face showed determination, masking the sorrow that was ready to burst free. "It was the wrong one, but I did what I thought was right."

Bob shook his head. "It's not the same thing, Dot."

"The Dell it isn't!" Dot snapped, moving closer. "We both made mistakes, and we both survived. We can move on from this, if you'd get past your pride and try-."

"Did you love him?"

Dot stopped mid-sentence, her arms hovering in the air where she had been gesturing in exasperation. "What?"

Bob stared her down. "Did you love him?" he asked, emphasizing each word clearly.

"Bob, I-," Dot faltered. "It's not that easy."

"Yes it is, Dot. Yes or no." The silence was enough for Bob. "That is why, Dot. That's why it's not the same thing. I never loved Constantia. I used her, and the User knows I hate myself for it, but I did. And if I had to do it all over again, I would, because it got me back." He took a deep breath and turned away from her. "But you… you gave your heart away." A dry laugh escaped him. "The nano I was out of Mainframe, frozen in that shell, and you were committing your life to another."

"Bob… no," Dot moaned softly.

"I could live with you hating me over Constantia. I could understand if you were never able to forgive me. I knew the consequences of my actions, and I was willing to face them. But this… Dot." He hung his head in defeat. "I can't."

"Maybe, with time…" Dot pleaded, desperation edging into her voice as tears threatened to overwhelm her. "Please don't give up on us," she begged, her voice breaking.

Bob could find no other words to say than, "I'm sorry." He moved forward again.

"You promised you wouldn't leave me again," she whispered.

Bob stopped long enough to relive that memory, unbidden and terribly painful as he recalled the taste of her lips during their first kiss, so soft against his, before forcing it from his mind. "And you told me you loved me," Bob replied without turning. "I guess we are both terrible liars."

He got into his car and drove off to the Principal Office to collect Megabyte and say goodbye… and he didn't look back.

_A/N: Welcome to 2013! Starting the year off right, with a "WTF?!" Or at least, I hope that's the reaction. So, my new resolution is to try and post a chapter every Sunday. Keep in mind, though, that I am currently doing two stories at once, so every other week will be a ReBoot chapter. In the event I don't make my deadlines, please feel free to drop me a PM telling me to get my ASCII in gear __. I have updated my profile page with stories coming down the line, so please take a look if you're so inclined!_

_So a toast to hoping this New Year is a great one! Cheers!_


	2. Little No Longer

_A/N: Holy New Year! I was floored by the responses to this first chapter. I know some people may not think 7 reviews are a lot, but for ReBoot, yes, that is for a first chapter! I'm so excited! Thank you so much, everyone, for sharing your thoughts and feelings on the chapter. _

_A special thanks to Jack of the Void for bringing something to my attention. Part of me didn't want to give anything away in the first chapter, but just saying "ignore all of CBHV" was a little confusing. I apologize for that. What I meant was to ignore all the sappy parts between Bob and Dot in the episode, because it wouldn't make sense for them to be talking about "how they've always made a great team" just before Bob transfers out of Mainframe because he can't deal with her betrayal. _

_I hope that helps to clear up any confusion my previous note may have caused! _

_Thanks to everyone who is following along, I hope you enjoy this next installment._

_Check it out, I learned how to do a horizontal line! Cool!_

* * *

Chapter 2: Little No Longer

**5 Hours Later…**

He didn't think it would be possible, but it had happened. The SuperComputer had expanded to a massive size that could only be described as breathtaking. He'd thought it big when he first came to the Academy, and he chuckled to himself at how things had changed.

Once upon a time the Academy was limited to only cadets, fully ranked Guardians, and support crew for maintaining the upkeep. Guests attended only on special occasions, and only in designated areas. Now, the main entrance to the Academy was a moving mass of students, teachers, aids, scientists… and then cadets and Guardians. The Academy had grown beyond training the future protectors of systems; it now housed the means to educate and inspire those who wanted to lead and develop systems.

Bob couldn't believe the change… and couldn't be more happy it had happened. He heard the rumors of the expansion of the Academy but didn't give it much credit until he witnessed it with his own two eyes. And as he did, a pang went through his heart.

It was all because of Daemon's fall. The unity of data sprites, Guardians, and binomes, through strategy, science, and devotion to a cause, brought the fall of the Super Virus. This realization, born from the guilt of so many Guardians who nearly destroyed the systems they were sworn to protect, fostered the development of equality among sprites and Guardians as equal defenders of the systems.

Mainframe was the shining example of what that equality could do.

Bob shook his head, riding himself of the memories that began to surface. If he didn't get moving, he was going to be late. Stepping forward under the opening archway of the great hall, Bob headed down the right corridor towards the Guardian Collective. He scanned the pictures in the hallways, glanced at the new cadets in the training rooms he passed, and nodded in greeting to those who acknowledged him.

Thankfully, there weren't many.

His feet carried him up to the Prime Guardian's office as it had done hundreds of times before, his auto-pilot direction allowing him to think over the upcoming meeting. Turbo hadn't said much in his video chat with Bob, simply requesting him for a visit. Seeing how he and Bob had barely spoken in the last few hours, Bob felt obliged to make the trip.

But he had a nagging feeling there was more to this than just a social call.

He smiled at the secretary who bustled about at her desk, handling five different VidWindows while she filed and transcribed notes… all at the same time. He refused to admit how it reminded him of someone. Instead, he politely gave his name, ignoring the wide eyed stare and sudden increased interest of the young woman, before waiting by one of the windows for Turbo to see him. In the courtyard below, first year cadets were running speed drills for agility around the center fountain. Bob shook his head as he recalled his first year.

"I remember when that fountain still hadn't been built when I first joined. Has it really been so long since we were in that courtyard?"

Bob turned to see Turbo staring out the window, smiling. "Maybe for you," Bob smirked. "I mean, that's back when DOS was the system of the future, right?"

"Perhaps," Turbo grunted, "but I can still run laps around you."

"Anytime, old man," Bob laughed. He accepted Turbo's firm handshake and followed him into his office. "You've done wonders with this place. It's changed so much."

"Thank you," Turbo gestured to the small couches on the side of his office. "It's been a lot of work, and it seems like the construction is never going to end, but everyone's been happy with the results."

Bob's eyebrows rose as he sat back into the comfortable cushions. "Everyone?"

The Prime Guardian scratched his head. "Well, maybe not everyone."

"I was thrilled I didn't get jumped on my way up here."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Turbo drawled.

Bob shrugged. "Not with what I've been hearing."

Turbo leaned back and stretched his arms out across the back of the couch. "It's not that bad," Turbo sighed. "That's just the media looking to rile up anybody who will listen."

"But that is why you called me here… isn't it?"

"Do you want something to drink? I'll have Elsa bring something in."

"No."

Turbo was already reaching for his phone to page his secretary. "How about a snack? I missed breakfast, I'm starving."

"I'm not doing it."

Turbo paused and looked at Bob. "What?"

Bob's smile had faded and all teasing was lost in the seriousness of his stare. "Whatever it is you're going to ask me. The answer is no. I'm not coming back."

Turbo stared at him for a moment before replacing the phone. He took a breath. "Bob-."

"No."

The room was silent for several tense moments. Finally, Turbo heaved another sigh before looking at the floor. "All right, I won't ask you anything. But… will you hear me out for a nano?"

Bob looked away for a moment, uncertainty flickering across his face, before he looked back to Turbo with a curt nod.

"The viral reformatting program has been a success… for the most part. We have managed to reformat twelve viruses since…" he trailed off at the warning look on Bob's face. "Since you proved the program could work," he finished. "The Collective is taking steps to implement the reformatting program as a permanent alternate to deletion."

"Alternate?"

Turbo nodded. "The seconds of a one way trip to the deletion chamber are erasing, Bob." Turbo shook his head. "It's a radical new concept, but the students we have going through the college here have argued a valid point: viruses are capable of making decisions just as we are, despite their programming. They are not mindless drones who follow a simple command. They are as conscientious as we are. They have as much of a right to existing as we do, and they have the right to choose life or death."

"What are the students proposing?"

"A court system… specifically for viruses. To hold them accountable to the laws of the systems, and of the SuperComputer, the same we do to everyone else."

"They don't uphold the laws; that's why they are viruses," Bob remarked dryly.

Turbo nodded, overlooking the undertone of bitterness in Bob's voice. "And that is why a new judicial system is being created: viruses cannot be held to same rules as average data sprites based solely on the nature of their format. But with the reformatting program, they can be given the choice: reformat or delete." There was a pause. "It's the results of your theory in polished form, Bob. The rights of all sprites, good or viral, shared equally."

Bob hummed to himself. "Bet the senior Guardians are loving that." He gave Turbo a frown. "You seem pretty comfortable with this."

"To keep the peace across the SuperComputer, you bet I am." Turbo ran his hand through his short hair. "Many sprites are still angered over what happened with Daemon, or what happened with viruses in their own systems… but this is a new generation of cadets. And the development of the school for data sprites is bringing in all new views and opinions of right and wrong when it comes to deletion."

"So the media running rampant with this… does it have to do with the reformatting program working 'for the most part'?"

Turbo nodded. "Thought you'd ask about that." He sighed and looked down at his clasped hands. "The reformatting program has worked in removing the viral strain and leaving the converted data sprite unharmed… but the tendencies are still there. None of the viruses have been released from the Collective's labs… because none have shown the ability to blend back into a system's society. They are no longer viruses… but they could still do harm."

Bob's eyes narrowed. "So the program is not a success at all."

Turbo's head shot up. "What do you mean?"

"The reformatting program was to eliminate the threat caused by the virus. If they are still capable of doing harm, then the problem has not been solved. Is this why the media is trying to stir the pot?"

"The media doesn't know about the potential threat of the reformatted sprites," Turbo said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing has been released about the program… except that the viral strains have been removed from the sprites. Everything the media is running on, and has been for the past few hours, is speculation and personal opinion from those they've interviewed."

"And who have they interviewed?"

"They are targeting the Senior Guardians who are flat out against the program… and the youngest students who are die-hards for pro-life. It's causing quite a storm across the Academy now that rumors are spreading of releasing the re-formatted sprites into systems."

Bob was quiet for a breath. "And you wanted to tell me about this because…"

"Because this was your dream… and it's almost a reality. But our scientists are struggling with the media war between the Guardians and the student body. As fascinated as they are with this breakthrough in viral eradication, they don't have the investment that you do, and we still have some bugs to work out before this program can be fully online."

"My dream…" Bob scoffed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Turbo, but that was a long time ago. I have other responsibilities now."

Turbo nodded slowly. "Yes, I know. You've made quite a name for yourself, in certain circles."

"But not here?"

"I didn't say that." Turbo held Bob's gaze. "I've spoken with the others about sending Guardians out to you, maybe even cadets. There is debate… but just like everything else is changing around here, it's time to look beyond only protecting systems."

Bob nodded. "Thank you, Turbo." He rubbed his hand across his forehead. "And I'm sorry…"

Turbo stood, prompting Bob to do the same. "So am I. But I can't say I'm surprised." He smiled sadly. "You always were too stubborn for your own good."

"And you must be getting soft in your old age. I expected more of a fight."

"I know when to cut my losses. But, enough about that," he said with a sudden brightness in his voice. "While you're here, why don't you let me show you around before you head back into the Storm?"

Bob laughed lightly. "Is that what they're calling it now?"

"Well, is it ever calm out there?" he asked, leading Bob out of his office.

"Nope, not in the Web."

* * *

"So while the merging of an educational school with the Guardian Academy has been beneficial for students, cadets, and teachers alike, it has created quite a problem with relationships."

Bob chuckled softly as they continued down the hallway of the Guardian Academy. Dating between cadets was forbidden during the training years… but there'd never been any rule about dating non-cadets. "Oh? How so?"

"Mandatory security checks in the supply closet. Need I say more?" Turbo quipped.

"Really? Who was the lucky Guardian that walked in on that?"

"Who do you think?"

"To have been a fly on the wall… I'm surprised you're not turning gray." Bob laughed.

Turbo sighed. "I should be with all of the drama that's come up. We're going to have to completely re-establish the rules around here regarding students and cadets, because the no dating policy is only going to make these hormone driven little monsters even harder to deal with."

"I still think its better than the cadets only having company with each other for four hours."

"I agree, and so do many others. Change just brings headaches, you know that."

"Yeah," Bob said softly.

"Oh, damn it."

"What?" Bob asked when Turbo stopped suddenly. The older sprite turned to him with a frown on his face.

"I forgot about an important call I had to make back at the office. Excuse me a nano, will ya?"

Bob shrugged. "Sure."

"Thanks," Turbo smiled and ducked into an empty classroom.

Bob looked around the empty halls, listening to the silence as he remembered his last year at the Academy, when he'd been running from class to class weighted down with books and lifted up with dreams. How young he'd been… and foolish… A muffled voice reached his ears, followed by a few more voices replying back in a mix of words and emotions. His eyes scanned the door to a nearby classroom, seeing the number 401 above the words "Ethics" and "Gdn. Prof. Pound." A smile lit up his face as he recognized the name of an old classmate, now a certified Guardian Professor, and in the subject he'd once hated as a student.

Bob chuckled at the irony before he looked through the window to the theatre seating classroom beyond. Pound, now older but not looking any different, was leaning against his desk at the front as he looked back and forth between the rows of his class. Through the door, Bob could hear a lively debate well underway. With the door at the back of the room and the class thoroughly engaged, Bob was able to slip in without disrupting, and he quietly set himself down in a seat in a darkened portion of the room. He was surprised to see the class was split down the middle between cadets and college students.

"… should not be an option. That's how the Collective has worked for hours, it's how it should continue to work from now on," a female cadet at the front right argued.

"Just because deletion was the answer in the past doesn't mean that's the only way things should be," another female dressed in a simple skirt and top, responded from the left side of the class.

"They destroy for a living," the cadet replied angrily, "if we let them live, they'll only keep destroying."

"How could they destroy if they're no longer formatted to do so?" a tall young student spoke up.

"The same way a data sprite can become a hacker and wreak havoc on a system: by choice," the female cadet snapped.

"Then does that mean we should delete hackers as quickly as we delete viruses?" the second female jumped back in, her voice building with irritation. "Because following your logic, anyone who does any wrong should be thrown in the deletion chamber without question."

"It's not the same thing and you know it, Lily."

"It is the same thing but you're too proud to admit it, Skylar."

"Ladies-," Pound cut in.

"Viruses are only created for one thing: to delete everything they touch. No amount of reformatting is going to change that, and to give them the chance will only put systems in danger when they're let out!" Skylar seethed.

"Data sprites have been given second chances before, including your own Guardians who were infected by Daemon, and more often than not they redeem themselves. Viruses should be given a chance, too!" Lily shouted back.

"The Guardians were infected, just like everyone else," a male cadet called out from the middle of the class. "They were not in control of their own actions, so they could not be held accountable for what they did. They had no reason for redeeming themselves."

"Viruses are not in control of what they do, either, because the User makes them that way. If the Guardians were given the choice to be infected, what do you think they would have chosen? I'd bet my system it's no different for viruses, if they were given the choice by the User," the male student responded.

"That's ridiculous," a third cadet jumped in, "viruses would have to actually care to be able make such a choice. And that's the problem with them, they don't care about anything or anyone but themselves. That's where they get their power, being selfish and destructive."

"You're wrong."

Everyone in the room turned at the soft voice spoken from the back. Bob looked several rows down and to the right to see a cadet with his head down in a data pad, separated from his peers by an empty row. He didn't look up, instead focusing on his file as he continued. "Viruses can care, when given the chance. They're personalities may not change… but they can learn to be friendly and caring… and continue being that way even if they go viral again."

"Oh, not this again," Skylar snorted. "Nobody wants to hear this every time we talk about viruses."

"Log off, Skylar, he's got more experience than you do with viruses," Lily snapped.

"Prove it! Oh, wait, he can't, because he has no record of his "encounter" with this changed virus. It's all lies and wishful thinking."

"It wasn't wishful thinking that saved the Net," the boy said quietly, though his voice carried across the room. He looked up, his eyes meeting Skylar's. "Everyone single one of you "encountered" her, and that _is _documented."

The students cheered, and the boy looked over at them, his dark purple eyes showing no joy in their support. Bob's breath froze in his chest as the boy's dark green spiked hair covered his violet gaze once more when he ducked back into his data pad. Two rows below him, another male cadet turned around and glared at the boy.

"Whose side are you on, Enzo?" the larger cadet hissed.

"Ok, I think that's enough for right now," Pound put his hands up and hobbled over to the podium at the front. "That was a very stimulating debate, and I'm proud of all for the excellent points brought to the table. Let's move away from Viral Ethics and talk about the role of the Command Dot Com in a system. How is this different from the role of any other military or political leader here in the SuperComputer, and why would ethics matter in this?"

Bob tuned out the slow starting discussion. He couldn't take his eyes off of the young Enzo Matrix who seemed completely uninterested in the class around him. Though he couldn't see his face, Bob could see how he'd grown, though not to the size or build of his older self. He looked strong but slender, and his eyes, in the brief moment Bob caught them, held a wisdom no teenager should have so soon in life.

Memories flicked by, and again Bob had to mentally shake himself to stop the flow of images. It was when he broke the streaming in his mind that he realized Turbo was sitting next to him, quietly observing the class. It occurred to him how perfectly Turbo had played his hand… Bob should have been warned when Turbo gave up the fight so easily.

Bob never removed his eyes from the boy as he spoke. "This was never about the reformatting program… was it?"

"No," Turbo answered quietly, "not entirely. Enzo is one of the brightest cadets we have here, and he is giving both cadets and students alike a run for their money in the science department. But his interest lies in the reformatting program… and in removing viral deletion. And as you can see, it's a heavy price to pay. His views are not especially liked among the Guardians… or his peers." He gave a long sigh. "Bob… I have been unable to find anyone willing to be his mentor."

Bob closed his eyes and took a breath. Cadets were required to have a mentor to finish their final year before becoming Guardians. Though cases were rare, those who were unable to find a suitable mentor, or keep a mentor, were released from the Academy. He opened his eyes and looked at the boy who had so much to give… and was clearly giving up so much to follow his dream.

"Someone should give him a chance," Bob whispered.

"Yes, someone should." Turbo's voice was kind but his tone was anything except subtle. When Bob looked at him, he said, "He's only had one mentor, Bob. And he needs him back."

Bob looked away, his expression masking his thoughts. Turbo stood when Bob's voice stopped him. "Why didn't you just tell me this from the start?"

"I didn't think you'd come," he answered honestly. "I think… you needed to see him… and see how much like you he really is." Turbo placed his hand on Bob's shoulder. "Was I wrong?"

Bob opened his mouth to argue… but found himself in doubt. After a moment, there was a squeeze on his shoulder. "Come on, Bob. Let's get you settled before I introduce you to your new protégé." The silver haired man gave one last look at the silent Enzo Matrix before he stood and followed the Prime Guardian out of the classroom, desperately trying to ignore the sudden knots in his stomach.


	3. Malfunction

_A/N: Thank you everyone for your encouraging reviews! I can't say how much of a treat it is to see so many people interested in this story! I hope you enjoy the next installment!_

Chapter 3: Malfunction

"Crash it all!" The clatter of a tool rang throughout the room as the sole occupant threw it at the cylindrical panel wrapping around the raised circular platform in the center. A huff and a groan were soon followed by the scraping of the tool as it was retrieved and returned to its place of purpose: trying to repair a bug that was loose in the power panel of the reformatting console.

After several nanos of frustrated mutters, a quiet "I quit" was said as a young man in a blue cadet uniform crawled out from underneath the panel. Enzo looked at the screen, recognized the same fault that had been present for at least a cycle, and shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Oh, I can believe it," a soft feminine voice joked. "This thing has been kicking your ASCII long enough for me to believe it."

Despite his irritation at the fault, Enzo felt himself smile and relax as he turned to his guest. The blue haired, gold-eyed student in a plain white shirt and ripped pants set a take out box near the keyboard of the panel and offered him an energy shake. She smiled back and ruffled his hair.

"You work too hard, you know that?"

"You only say that because you don't work."

"Ha ha," she mocked, "very funny. Sit down and eat."

"Yes Mom."

He took the offered box of food and sank down against the wall, the young woman sliding down next to him. They enjoyed a comfortable silence as they ate, each keeping to their own thoughts. Enzo stared at the panel as he chewed his food, wondering what he could try next to remove that pesky bug in the system.

"Is the rumor true?"

Enzo looked over at his companion who was focused on stabbing a run away vegetable. He pursed his lips as he had a pretty good idea where this was going. "Which one?"

She smirked before answering, "The one about a mentor."

Enzo sighed and shoveled another forkful of food into his mouth. "Word travels fast around here."

"Oh my User, that's great! I was hoping it would be true!" Her voice dropped a little at the silence that came back to her. "I thought you would be happy about this."

"Happy about what? Turbo being able to bribe someone into taking the oddball of the Academy as a student? Please."

"He bribed someone?"

Enzo shrugged. "Probably." He looked at her. "What else could it be? No one, _no one_, has wanted anything to do with me up until now."

Her head dropped from his gaze. "You really think that?"

"I meant the Guardians, Pandora," he said softly. He smiled when she looked back up, and he brushed a blue bang back behind her ear. "Not you."

She blushed under his heavy gaze and looked back at her food. "Good." She took another bite before speaking again. "Any idea who it might be?"

Enzo shook his head. "Not a clue. Turbo hasn't talked to me yet either. I don't even think I was supposed to know, not until the official meet and greet anyway."

"Your Prime Guardian is an idiot if he thinks a secret can be kept in this place." They chuckled and set aside their food, sitting shoulder to shoulder as they stared at the control panel. "So… who's next on our agenda?" Pandora asked, changing the subject.

Enzo nodded to himself. After a moment, he said, "Lavandos."

"What time?"

"Thirty nanos?"

"Sounds good… but what are we going to do until then?"

Enzo gave her a side long glance, his cheeks reddening slightly at the not so subtle look he was receiving. "Well…"

She grabbed his uniform and pulled him closer. He smiled before his lips softly met hers. His hand moved up to stroke her face and she wrapped her arm around his neck. With a sigh he broke away and wrapped his arms around her back, hugging her close. She ran her fingers through his short, green hair and kissed his temple.

"Back to work already?" she said, her voice laced with disappointment.

"As much as I love the company…"

"…the location is another story, I know," she finished. She smiled and pulled herself from his arms. They stood and gathered their trash before she grabbed his hand. "I'll meet you there in twenty, ok?"

He pulled her to him for a quick kiss. "You bet." He smiled and watched her leave. "Thank you, User," he whispered and turned back to the control panel. The fault code continued to glare at him, and his smile quickly disappeared.

The door opened again. Enzo typed something into the panel and said, "I won't be able to get anything done if you keep interrupting me."

"That's the first time a cadet told me to get out."

Enzo looked behind him to see the Prime Guardian watching him with his arms crossed, though his eyes held no malice. "Sorry, Sir, I thought you were someone else."

"That's good to know." Turbo walked up to the panel and looked down at the screen. "The console still giving you a hard time?"

"I'll straighten it out… or rip it out," he muttered.

"Please choose the path of least damage," Turbo joked. "I know what your family is capable of."

Enzo didn't say anything, but he couldn't hide the smirk fast enough. He cleared his throat as he pressed a few more keys. "What brings you by, Sir?" he asked lightly, though his heart dreaded the answer.

"I'm sure you already know."

Enzo shrugged. "Word travels fast."

"Yes." A pause. "Are you all right, Son?"

The cadet tried another command code with no results before answering. "Fine, Sir, just frustrated with this. I'll get it, though."

"You know what I mean. This isn't a set up, Enzo." Turbo waited until the boy met his eyes. "I know what you're thinking right now. I guess… I'd feel the same way if it was me. But I want you to do me a favor, ok? Give him a chance."

Enzo scoffed before he could hold his tongue. He shook his head and moved to slid under the panel, but Turbo's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Enzo sighed. "Give him a chance, huh? Like he's 'giving me a chance'? I know this is just a pity act, Sir. Since the beginning of the senior hour I've known this is what would happen. I get it." He looked up at the older Guardian. "So please don't insult me by making this sound like anything other than what it is: a temporary arrangement just so I can graduate."

Turbo stared at him for a moment. "It doesn't have to be that, Enzo. But it's up to you."

"Whatever you say, Sir."

The room was heavy with tension, broken only by Turbo's calm voice saying, "He would like to meet you down here, so he can see your area of expertise."

"I'll be down in the viral chambers later this second, he's welcome to join us there."

"Us?"

"Pandora will be with me… for her study."

"Of course. For her study."

Enzo paused, the tone leaving him wondering what Turbo was implying. Before he could ask, Turbo was already heading for the door. "I will let him know. Keep up the good work, cadet."

"Yes, Sir." Enzo rolled his eyes after the door shut. "Give him a chance," he muttered. "Whatever."

* * *

"Hello, Lavandos." The small purple sprite looked up from the drawing she was working on, a neutral look in her red eyes as she nodded at Pandora and Enzo when they entered. "How are you?"

The sprite shrugged and went back to her sketching. "Same as before."

Pandora sat down at the table and Enzo walked over to the bed where Lavandos was seated. "May I join you?" At her short nod, he sat and looked at the picture. "What are you working on?"

"Something I saw." Her eyes looked up beneath black bangs. "Can you tell me what it is?"

He craned his neck for a better look, and she angled the sheet for him. In the picture, curved lines that looked like sprites were lying in a circle around a long haired creature with a wide smile and jagged teeth. Clawed hands were clasped around the head of a sprite, on his knees before the dangerous creature, his face in anguish. Enzo kept his face calm as he noticed the sprite being held was a startling reflection of himself.

"Where did you see this, Lavandos?" Enzo asked softly.

"In here," she answered.

"Here?"

She nodded. "I opened my eyes this morning, and there it was."

Enzo looked over at Pandora for a moment, his eyebrows raised. He looked back and pointed to the picture. "Have you seen this place before?" he asked the purple sprite.

"No," she said, "I don't think it's a place. That's why I don't understand what it is. What did I see?"

Enzo smiled. "I think you saw a dream." He chuckled at Lavandos' blank look. "It's something sprites experience when they sleep. Their minds create pictures from memories and imagination. It can be very pleasant for some of us."

Lavandos looked at the picture. She looked up at him and back down again. "I saw you."

"Yes, you did." He watched as Lavandos lifted the picture and pointed the replica of Enzo to Pandora, who tilted her head slightly.

"Lavandos," Pandora said, "how did you feel when you woke up and saw this picture in your mind?"

"Confused."

"Sure, that's understandable." Pandora smiled and leaned forward slightly. "Enzo said dreams can be pleasant. Did you feel good when you woke up? Or did you feel upset?"

Lavandos stared at the picture. "I felt satisfied." She smiled at the picture. "Yeah."

Enzo and Pandora looked at each other for a moment, the childlike sprite missing the silent conversation between them. Pandora made a note on her data pad as Enzo went back to watching Lavandos admire her work. "How about the rest of this cycle? Have you had any other dreams?" Enzo asked.

Lavandos nodded and reached under her bed. "I enjoy drawing these… dreams," she said as she pulled out a small pad with several loose sheets inside. She began handing them one by one to Enzo, who turned them over to Pandora. Each one showed a sprite with long hair and jagged teeth, clawed hands reaching for sprites running or cowering in fear. "Do you like them?"

Enzo paid each one the same attention before passing them on. After he looked at the last one, eight in all, he smiled up at the reformed virus. "I like them very much," he said. "You are very expressive with your art. Some sprites think dreams have meaning. What do you think your dreams mean?"

"I don't know," Lavandos shrugged. "I just know I like drawing them."

Enzo pointed to the first picture Lavandos was working on, beckoning to see it again. He tapped himself in the picture as he said, "This is what you saw this morning?" When Lavandos nodded, he continued, "Do you want to do that to me right now?"

She frowned. "I don't want to do anything to you… except show you my work." She smiled. "Because you like it."

"Do you think you would want to do that to me sometime? Like if I said I didn't like your work?"

She stared at the picture for a moment. She shook her head. "No. I don't want to see you look like that." She looked up at him. "I like you happy better."

Enzo smiled. "I like you happy, too." The young reformatted virus gave a large grin before she went back to sketching. Enzo watched as Pandora took down more notes.

* * *

"Incredible," Pandora sighed as they walked down the corridor, past the numbered doors.

"I know. She's exhibiting common data sprite behavior. Dreams! What a breakthrough."

"Yeah…"

Enzo looked at his girlfriend, his smile slowly fading. "What?"

"It's not much of a breakthrough when we can't share it."

"What do you mean, this is huge! Viruses can't dream because they're not designed to create. This supports just how effective the program is! How can we not share it?"

"Didn't you see the pattern in the pictures, Enzo? I mean, you were in half of them."

"Is that a hint of jealousy in your voice?"

"No." She stopped, turning to face him with a serious look on her face. "She was drawing herself as a virus, and she was hurting everyone in sight. She was hurting you."

"But you recorded it, Pandora, when she said she didn't want to hurt me. She's drawing violence because it's all she's known. If she saw the rest of the Net out there, she would have many other things to draw."

Pandora shook her head. "I believe that, but the Guardians won't." She started moving down the hallway again, her shoulders slumped.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Enzo asked, following her.

"What if we never get them out of here, Enzo?" Her eyes were sad when she looked at him. "What if they are trapped here for the rest of their lives, caged like animals?"

"I won't let that happen," he whispered. His hand brushed hers as they walked, the gesture seeming innocent to an onlooker. "I promise." He moved away slightly.

"Does that mean we'll be going to C1 next?"

Enzo was silent. When Pandora opened her mouth, he cut her off. "Pandora, don't."

"Enzo-." She stopped at his look. "All right. Another fight for another second."

"Pandora-."

"I know, I know." She took a breath. "I thought I saw Turbo going into the reformatting room earlier."

"Yeah. He said my mentor wanted to meet me while I was working."

Pandora looked around. "Like here?"

"That would be when I'm working, wouldn't it?" He snorted. "Looks like he didn't have time. What a surprise."

"Well, maybe he's a hands-off kinda sprite," Pandora offered. "I mean, at least then he'd be out of the way, right?"

"Right."

She bumped her shoulder against his in a friendly gesture. "Hey, you'll still have me."

"Then I guess it's not so bad. Are you coming back to the reformatting room?"

She shook her head. "Later. I've got papers to do, remember?"

"Hey, you wanted to be psychologist."

"And I'd rather be writing papers than being stuck underneath that random power panel hunting down bugs."

Enzo scowled. "I'll get that bug if I have to tear that program down bit by bit."

She giggled and shoved him down the hall towards the reformatting room. "Happy hunting!" She waved and walked off towards her dorm.

* * *

Enzo stretched his stiff back muscles while he let his arms rest on his chest. He glanced at his wrist and rolled his eyes. He'd been on his back under the blasted panel for over three microseconds, with no progress to show for it. His stomach growled and he used a free hand to rub his eyes. He was determined to get the program panel fixed before he went to bed, but at this rate, it was looking to be a long night. The cadet sighed and lifted his arms again, moving cables aside to focus on a circuit card he hadn't checked yet.

The door opened and closed with a soft _woosh_ of air. Without looking away, he called up to Pandora, "Hey, glad you came in. Can you pass me the sonic screwdriver in the toolbox? I've gone through every cable and checked every access point into the software- thanks- and now I'm about to jump into the circuit cards, but I think it's a long shot. I don't know what else to do, though, except take a hammer to the damn thing!"

"Did you try restarting it?"

The soft crank of the screwdriver ceased, Enzo's hands and breath freezing in the same moment. In the sudden silence, the young cadet could hear the system power down, the soft hum of the electricity pausing before it kicked back on. The panel beeped when it ran self start up tests for operability. No indications sounded of improper loading or function.

"Huh. That's better."

Enzo put down his tools and slid out from under the panel, his eyes fixed on the sprite running diagnostics at the touch panel as he began speaking.

"I can't find any trace of the fault, but you probably fixed it a while back. Sometimes you just need to reboot to clear the memory bank. This program was always touchy like that." Bob looked away from the viewing screen and smiled down at the cadet frozen in shock. "Hi, Enzo." He reached his hand down to help up the young man.

Enzo snapped back into life, swinging his arm out to swat away Bob's hand. He scrambled to his feet and stood near the center platform, keeping the control panel in between them. He said nothing as he stared at the sprite across from him.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he was here, he was _right here_, in front of him, after five hours. The realization kicked the wind out of him and his hands came up to tighten on the panel. As if from a distance, he noticed Bob was talking to him, and he forced himself to focus on the words.

"…how have you been?"

Enzo blinked. "That's funny. You almost sound like you care." He watched Bob lean back slightly, as if pushed away by his words. Enzo hoped that was the case. The urge hit him to push hard, as hard as he could, and he happily took the challenge. "Well, screw it, you traveled all this way from wherever you ran off to, why don't I enlighten you? You want to know how I've been? Hmm, let's see. Do you want me to start before or after you ruined my sister's life?"

Bob's face reflected surprise, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Enzo cut him off. "Oh, wait, that would probably just bore you, wouldn't it, seeing how you wanted nothing to do with us. So, life at the Academy then? Nah, not much to talk about there. I'm sure Turbo gave you all the juicy details when he dragged you into this job, huh?"

"Enzo-."

"So why don't we just not talk about me, because really, we both know how unimportant I am. Let's talk about you, the great Guardian 452, survivor of the Web, creator of the reformatting program, backstabbing traitor to those he had the nerve to call family. How have you been?"

Bob looked down at the panel. "Enzo, stop."

The teenage cadet gave him a shocked look. "What? You can pretend to care about me but I can't show the same courtesy? I'm hurt, really, I am."

"I know you are," Bob jumped in, raising his head to lock eyes with the angry cadet. "And you have every right to be. But that doesn't change the fact that I care about you, and that I'm not leaving until you graduate, because you deserve this more than any other cadet in here."

"What makes you think I want your help?"

"I don't think you want it, but you're going to need it. And I'm going to do everything I can to fix this, to fix us, so you can be the best Guardian out there."

Enzo stared at the sprite who was once his hero. He took a deep breath and pushed away from the panel. "So you think I'm going to need your help." He shook his head with a hollow laugh. "Well, I think you've helped me enough for one lifetime. So why don't you do what you do best? Turn around and run away. And don't. Come. Back."

Without another word, Cadet Matrix turned and walked out of the reformatting room.


	4. Breaking Barriers

Chapter 4: Breaking Barriers

_Breathe. Step. Swing. Duck. Step. Crouch. Swing. Block._

_Repeat._

He continued through the motions, spinning, breathing, sweating, and defeating each opponent as it tried to break his concentration. They were failing. He allowed himself the slightest of smiles as another attacker fell, knocked unconscious from the blow to the head by his three foot long guard stick.

It had been one of his favorite classes since he first arrived at the Academy, and Enzo had taken to the martial arts class like a null to energy. It didn't take long for him to realize he felt most calm when he lost himself in the movements, and for a few microseconds each second, he could forget about the loneliness and isolation from his family at home… and forget the struggles he faced at the Academy. There was one struggle in particular he was avoiding. A struggle he'd been trying to avoid for the past cycle… but which wouldn't stay away from him.

Every second Guardian 452 would surprise him in a different class to try and "train him." He'd caught the cadet off guard yester-second by plopping down next to him at lunch, nearly making Enzo choke on his energy shake. He'd even had the nerve to walk in during one of Enzo's sessions with a reformatted virus named Morris… though neither Pandora nor Enzo had noticed he was leaning silently at the back until Morris asked him to play checkers when Enzo and Pandora wouldn't. Bob had won three rounds, and the ex-virus won five. Morris thought Bob was the greatest thing since touch screens.

Enzo shook his head, erasing the distracting thoughts, and moved faster, hitting his opponents harder as he quickly pushed himself to his limits. Another fighter was knocked back, wiped out on his back, and lay still before disappearing. They all flickered out until he was alone. Enzo blinked, coming up from his defensive stance in surprise. He hadn't called off the simulation. A warning bell went off in his head.

Enzo spun, brining his fighting stick around in a sharp arc. It connected with another stick, cracking loudly in the open room, and Enzo glared at Bob. Once again, the Guardian was stalking him, and he just wouldn't get the hint. "What are you still doing here?" he hissed.

Bob shrugged. "Checking up on my cadet. Nice form."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want you here!"

"Then get rid of me," Bob taunted lightly, a grin slowly spreading across his face. He took advantage of Enzo's sudden hesitation and thrust his weapon forward, slamming it with both hands into Enzo's chest. The cadet crashed back into the floor.

Enzo rolled backwards and jumped to his feet, his eyes narrowing before he lunged. He swung, Bob parried, and the two danced lightly around the wide training room. The Guardian remained always on the defensive, his face set in a mask of indifference. His eyes, however, seemed to be enjoying every nano of their spar.

It was irritating to no end. Clearly, Bob was much better at sparring than Enzo anticipated, and it reminded him of how much he had admired Bob back in Mainframe. The Guardian always seemed to be good at anything he did… and it was seriously pissing Enzo off. It gave him the edge to start hitting harder, faster, and he smirked at Bob's surprise when he stumbled back.

Enzo became so focused on aiming for Bob's head he failed to keep his focus across his whole body. The leg sweep was quick, unexpected, and terribly successful. Enzo was caught so much by surprise, he cried out as he fell, his back hitting the floor so hard it knocked the wind from him. He coughed and sputtered; the room filling with the loud noise of his gaping breaths. Through watery eyes, he saw Bob kneeling next to him, waiting patiently. The cadet rolled away from him and tried to get his breathing under control.

"Want to try another round or call it?" Bob asked lightly.

Enzo looked back, glaring at the Guardian still kneeling on the floor. "I want you to leave me alone."

"That wasn't an option."

"I don't care."

"I do."

Enzo opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head instead.

"What, Enzo?"

The cadet stared at Bob before turning and walking out of the training room.

* * *

Several microseconds later, Enzo walked quietly across the Academy toward his dorm. He avoided the stares from his classmates, trying to hide the blush at their not too subtle finger pointing and the whispers that revolved around his new mentor. Like it wasn't bad enough Enzo had a reputation around the SuperComputer, but now being paired with the famous Guardian who had caused so much dispute on Viral Reformatting… Thank the User no one knew about their prior history. Well, almost no one.

A flash of blue caught his attention, and he looked up to see Pandora walking beside him. "Hey, Cadet," she greeted lightly.

"Hey," he replied, his voice slightly gruff from the long cycle.

"What's up?" At his nonchalant shrug, her voice dropped to a whisper. "That bad, huh?"

Enzo's eyes swept the halls. "And everyone seems to know about it." He looked at her, pointedly. "Right?"

She looked uncomfortable under his gaze. "Word travels fast," she answered.

Enzo looked straight ahead. "I knew it," he muttered. "I knew he would make things worse."

"It's not him, you know," she whispered. "It's the gossip."

Enzo stopped. He snapped his eyes to her, pinning her under a hard glare. "You sound like you're defending him." She watched him for a moment before turning away and walking down an empty corridor. "Hey!" He followed her until she stopped abruptly and turned.

"Enzo," she whispered, "I know you're upset but-."

"You are taking his side," he accused.

She shook her head. "I'm on your side, you know that. I'm just saying that…" She looked down and took a breath. "You two are a lot alike, Enzo."

"I am _nothing_ like him," Enzo retaliated, his voice rising in anger.

"Then maybe he's more like you."

Enzo came up short. "…What?" He grabbed her hand when she started to walk away again. "No, wait. What the Dell does that mean?"

"I just find it funny that for the Net renowned sprite who helped save us all… he seems pretty damn lonely." She held Enzo's gaze. "Why do you think that is?"

"He brought that on himself," he answered, his voice hard. "He made that choice, not us."

"And you made a choice to support Viral Reformatting. What has it cost you to be true to yourself?" She paused, searching his violet eyes. "Enzo, if everything you've told me about him before… the wedding… is true, then all I'm saying is… Bob has been paying that same price for a lot longer." She smiled sadly at him before moving away, leaving Enzo staring after her.

After a moment, he moved back into the main hallway and continued to his room. With each step, he felt himself become more and more upset at Pandora's words. What he couldn't figure out was what made him so angry about them. By the time he walked in and slammed the door, the scowl on his face made those he passed duck for cover. He was so lost in his thoughts he wasn't aware of his guest until he spoke.

"You should lock your door, you know."

Enzo's head whipped to the right where Bob sat comfortably on Enzo's bunk, his back leaning against the wall as he read through some of Enzo's reports. "Get off my bed!"

"These are very good," Bob ignored him as he continued reviewing the essay before him. The files were ripped from his hands and he looked up at the fuming cadet. "Be careful with those, you'll need them for your final project."

"Get out!"

"Sure, Enzo, because that approach has been so successful the last ten times you've used it."

The cadet threw his reports down on his desk with a bang. "Fine!" He turned and stormed out of the room. He managed two feet before he fell flat on the floor. He glared at Bob's foot, caught around Enzo's ankle. "Damn it, Bob!" He kicked Bob's foot away so hard he knocked the desk. It shook and something fell from the top shelf. It cracked against the floor. Bob reached it before Enzo could, and the cadet paused as he watched Bob still.

It was a picture taken after Mainframe's reboot. The whole gang was together, including Hex, but no one was ready for the picture. Hack and Slash were fighting, Hex was taunting Specky, Phong was racing to get into the shot… and Bob and Dot were staring at each other and smiling, their arms wrapped comfortably around the other. In the chaos of the picture, they were unaffected, both lost in a world comprised of only them. Enzo cherished the picture for how happy everyone was before Daemon.

The cadet sat up quietly, his anger fading as he saw a flash of something on Bob's face. The room was still until he softly called out, "Bob?" The Guardian snapped back to the present, the emotions on his face quickly locked down under a neutral expression. He set the picture on the desk and stood up.

"The frame cracked but the picture's okay," he said before looking down at Enzo. "Tomorrow's exam day, right?" he asked, smiling.

Enzo stared at Bob, the question confusing him.

"You have a lot of studying, so I'll leave you to it." He stood and offered a hand down to Enzo who remained still. After a moment, Bob shrugged and ruffled the cadet's hair, finally getting a response out of him. Bob laughed at his distress and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Enzo looked from the door to the picture and back. He couldn't believe it. Bob had just run out on him. He looked at the picture once more and reached for it. His thumb ran over his sister's face, tracing her wide smile. He remembered how beautiful she was when happy.

He wondered if Bob had been thinking the same thing.

* * *

With the expansion of the Academy to include the college, the grounds and zigzag pattern of buildings were more appeasing to the eye than ever before. Luckily, the construction went out instead of up, so the top of the bell tower was still the best place to sit and watch the busy lives below. Bob let his feet dangle over the window edge and he leaned forward on his knees to stare out over the campus. The ledge, the view, the soft breeze, all were so familiar to him he felt like he'd just come home.

How many microseconds had he spent sitting up here, thinking and dreaming about the future? He chuckled. Enough to know he could have done better in several classes during his training had he not been perched on this ledge. But to him, it was worth it. He'd realized he'd fallen for his first girlfriend up here. He argued with himself over the morality of deletion, even for viruses, and came up with an idea to make a change. He opted to take a smaller, slower system over a rapidly expanding system connected to the SuperComputer for his first official assignment. His had told him he was making a mistake, had said he would be setting himself back, but he just knew that was where he needed to be.

And once again, his thoughts circled back to Mainframe.

Bob sighed.

_ He just had to have a picture, didn't he?_

It shouldn't have been surprising, but maybe it wasn't the picture itself that bothered Bob so much. It was just the pain of seeing her again after so long. He closed his eyes and remembered the details of that second. The air was filled with excitement. Sprites and binomes cheered and cried. Everything was brighter, clearer, more breathtaking than ever before. And Dot's smile was absolutely stunning.

He'd wanted to propose right then.

Bob winced at the thought. How would things have turned out if he'd just asked her, right there after the show, right in front of everyone? Even with Daemon lingering across the Net, they would have still had each other. They would have survived… and when _he_ showed up… maybe she would have chosen the right one…

Maybe.

"Credit for your thoughts."

Bob looked behind him, surprised. Enzo stepped forward and leaned against the ledge next to him, looking out over the campus instead of at Bob. Bob couldn't believe the cadet had found him… let alone had come up to talk to him. It wasn't a short climb. Enzo glanced at him and chuckled, pulling Bob from his musing. "What?"

"You look like a fish."

Bob snorted. "Well, you are the first sprite I've ever seen up here besides me." He shook his head. "How did you find me?"

Enzo shrugged and looked back out over the Academy. "You've always been comfortable with heights, so…" After a moment, Enzo felt Bob's eyes and looked up. He looked away and back again when Bob said nothing. He fidgeted, becoming uncomfortable under the Guardian's scrutiny. "What?" he asked, irritability edging into his voice.

"You know me that well," the Guardian answered, smiling softly.

"Maybe… once upon a time." Enzo looked away. "But not anymore."

Bob swallowed. The jovial air between them was rapidly cooling, and he wasn't sure what to say next. So he took a breath and dove in. "Why did you come up here, Enzo?"

For a long time, Enzo didn't say anything. Then, with a low voice, he asked, "You miss her… don't you?"

_Damn it. Well, it was going to come up eventually…_ "Sometimes," Bob answered quietly, finding something fascinating to play with under his fingernails.

"I waited up every night."

Bob stopped fidgeting.

"I told her every second you were coming back."

Bob looked at Enzo.

The cadet's hands were clasped tightly together, his head bowed as he continued. "I told everyone that it was just another tiff. You were just taking a break… and then you'd show up and everything would be normal again. No one believed me… and then I stopped believing myself." He turned his head, facing Bob with pain filled eyes. "Damn it, Bob, why didn't you come back?"

Bob opened his mouth and found he had no words to answer the boy pleading to him. He ducked his head and sighed. How could he explain it without hurting Enzo?

"Dot messed up, didn't she?"

"Enzo-."

"She messed up and you can't forgive her."

Bob shook his head. "Enzo, it's more complicated than that. But I don't blame your sister." He was surprised by the hard glare he received.

"Stop lying to me," Enzo snapped. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I understand things a lot better than you think, so stop treating me like a child and tell me the truth."

The Guardian lifted his hands in mock surrender, his eyes wide. "I know that, Enzo, I just don't know why you think I'm lying."

"Because she picked Megabyte because _you_ reminded her of everything bad that happened." Enzo waited for Bob's denial and pressed when he received none. "She didn't even care when you showed up with Glitch on your arm at the wedding, remember? She was dead set against you." Bob turned his head to avoid his accusing stare. "Dot ruined everything."

"Is that what she's been telling you?" Bob asked carefully, not surprised at the guilt she would be carrying if she believed she'd destroyed them.

"No, that's what you told her. Right?" He watched Bob turn and frown. "You told her she'd turned her back on you, on your relationship, because she was too weak to handle it."

Bob's mouth dropped. "Enzo… how do you know that?"

"I was with Dot when Matrix called her and told her you were leaving. She shot off to your apartment and I followed. I heard the fight." He looked away. "I didn't know you could get that angry. It… it scared me. I ran back to the Diner after that." He turned and leaned his back against the window ledge, letting his gaze rove around the inside of the bell tower. "It didn't make sense to me then. I thought Dot made a mistake and you would come back when it was fixed. When you didn't come back, though, I started to think you were wrong. Dot was so upset… she cried herself to sleep for cycles after you left… and I started to blame you for everything that went wrong. I mean, it was my sister who was suffering, and I thought you couldn't care less about her, about us."

Enzo looked over at Bob. "But when you looked at that picture, I," he stumbled, "I saw it, Bob. You did… do care. I think you…" he trailed off. He shook his head and started again. "I get it now. She hurt you… and you haven't been able to forgive her."

Bob stared at the cadet in shock. It was hard for him to remember Enzo Matrix was still not quite an adult. In his eyes, he was much smarter than Bob could ever hope to be. But he still didn't have the whole story… "Enzo, I wasn't lying when I said Dot wasn't to blame."

Enzo frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't just the wars in Mainframe that made it hard for her to be with me. It was everything that happened in the Web, too." Bob sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. "It wouldn't be fair to blame her for everything, when I did things that pulled us apart, too."

"Like what?"

Bob brought his feet up onto the ledge and turned to face Enzo, pressing his back against the stone window frame. With a deep breath, he summarized his time in the Web, this time sharing his imprisonment in Villanova… and his enslavement to Constantia. He also told Enzo about the uploaded memories, and how Dot didn't just learn about the memories, but experienced them as if she'd been there.

When Bob reached the end, the sky was dark and a full moon had risen. The campus below was dazzling with bright lights. Enzo had sunk down to the floor, listening intently to every word without interrupting. Bob tried to see the cadet's face as he finished, but it was hidden in shadow. He called down to the boy, who'd become so still he feared he'd fallen asleep.

"She shouldn't blame you, Bob," Enzo said softly. "You weren't really in control of yourself… and you didn't have a lot of options left."

"That's easy for us to say," he countered. "But she saw what happened through my own eyes. She felt it... she knew what I was thinking… and feeling…" He sighed again. "Enzo, if I'd seen her with another sprite like that, I think I'd go out of my mind. I don't know if I could look at her the same way again without remembering."

Enzo was quiet for several breaths. "Did she forgive you for it?"

"We never really had a chance to talk about it."

"Maybe… if she forgave you for being with another sprite… you could forgive her for the same thing." Enzo looked up to Bob. "I know it sounds really simple, but isn't that really what it comes down to?"

Bob opened his mouth to argue and found himself in doubt. How wonderful and horrible it would be if that was really all it took to fix everything. But despite the excitement he began to feel at the idea of seeing her again, at talking and possibly forgiving, he couldn't stop the rush of fear in his heart. It had been five hours… what if she'd moved on like he'd tried to do? For him to go back and be rejected… again…

"Bob?"

"I think it's time we called it a night." He moved off the ledge and held out his hand to help the cadet to his feet. Enzo stood and stretched before staring at Bob. The Guardian gazed at the teenager with a youthful face and a maturity that would put wise men to shame. He'd grown up so much, and Bob felt a sudden pang of regret for missing every moment of the boy's youth since he'd left.

As if reading his thoughts, Enzo suddenly stepped forward and wrapped Bob in a hug. The Guardian hesitated for only a moment before returning the embrace. Bob turned his head and pressed his cheek into Enzo's hair, and whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" came the muffled reply.

"For giving me another chance." He felt a squeeze around his shoulders before Enzo pulled away. The cadet smiled shyly up at him and scratched his head.

"Well, then I guess I should be thanking you, too."

"For what?"

"For stalking me, you wing nut."

They laughed and began their long trek down the stairs of the bell tower, both feeling that, for the first time in hours, they had something good to look forward to.

_A/N: Hi all! Thanks so much for the continued support, I am truly grateful to everyone who has taken the time to drop a note, follow, or favorite the story! I've been very lucky my muse has been so cooperative with me to be able to keep my goals of a chapter per week. Unfortunately, I am going to be late on the next chapter for Reboot because I will not be able to access the internet for the last two weeks of February while I'm out with my military unit. If we don't go, I'll have the chapter updated on time. If I do end up going, I will have the next chapter updated either March 1__st__ or 2__nd__. Please feel free to drop any thoughts you may have on the story, I love hearing what you like or don't like in the chapters. It also gives me an idea of how the chapters are coming across to you. Sometimes it makes perfect sense in my mind and everyone else is going, "Uh, ya lost me." I hope that hasn't happened so far, but if it has, let me know and I'll try to make better sense for you._

_Thanks again, gang!_

_A/N 3/3/13: Hi there. So, I'm very sorry I am unable to keep my promise of updating every other Sunday. I have found that this story is slowly becoming a bigger beast than I had anticipated. There's a lot I would like to do with the plot, but the limited time I have to commit to writing around my job has made it challenging to meet my self-imposed deadlines. For the time being, I cannot give you all a definite time on my next update, but I can ensure you that I am working on the story. I would rather post a good chapter late than a mediocre chapter early just for the sake of posting on a Sunday. _

_So thank you for your patience, and I know you'll all be hearing from me soon!_


	5. All or Nothing

Chapter 5: All or Nothing

** 3.5 cycles later…**

"So. Are you ready to begin?" she asked sweetly.

Turbo cleared his throat and adjusted to sit more comfortably in the seat. He nodded and smiled politely.

"Wonderful." The older woman leaned forward slightly in her chair and pressed a button on the VidWindow hovering next to them. A red light began blinking at the bottom, and she began speaking. "Turbo, in a few short microseconds, you and the other board members for the Academy will be sitting through the final debates on the acceptance, or rejection, of the new justice system for viruses, based on the controversial Viral Reformatting Program. For the final debate taking place later this second, the validity of the program, and its overall effectiveness, is going to be the hot topic. Of course, as we all know, without the reformatting program, viruses will continue to face deletion as the only means of justice for their crimes against systems. I don't have to sit here and tell you that this has caused the biggest media storm since Daemon. So why don't you tell me about your expectations for this second's meeting?"

"Well, Miss Huffington, I have very high hopes for a positive outcome," Turbo answered. "As you know, the young sprites we have coming to either the Guardian side or the Student side are some of the brightest across the Net. They are far more educated than I was back at that age," he laughed. "And they are bringing new, valid viewpoints on the equality of all intelligent creatures living across all of our known systems."

Miss Huffington tilted her head and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You think viruses deserve equal rights the same as everyone else? Forgive me, but that seems an odd stance from the leader of the school designed to erase viruses."

"I'm sure it does," Turbo nodded, "but that is where the value of the program really comes to light. If you remember the discussion during the last debate, five of the viruses we reformatted willingly agreed to be changed. They did not resist arrest, they did not fight when they were given the option before the board, and they did not try to escape on the second they were reformatted. Their willingness to submit to the program resulted in zero brawls, meaning none of my Guardians or any of the students or staff was in danger while the viruses were here."

"But," Miss Huffington started, "that is only five viruses out of how many that Guardians have been fighting over the hours?"

"A very good point," he acknowledged. "And part of the argument against the program. Viruses have been around for as long as sprites have, and we have come across no record in history of a virus that has been anything other than a force of destruction."

"Until Daemon, you mean," she interrupted with a gesture of her hand.

"Yes, until Daemon and the virus who stopped her terminal infection, Hexidecimal."

"That's right. Mainframe's now famous virus is carrying the most weight in supporting the program, wouldn't you say?" Miss Huffington asked.

"Yes. The fact is undeniable that a virus actually used destructive measures, in Hex's case, her own, to save the lives of millions. That's a tough argument to beat."

"But what about the Cadet Enzo Matrix, the sprite who has truly been driving this program? Seeing as how he had history with Hexidecimal, perhaps even a friendship as implied by that little touch of infectious code she gave before she fragmented, isn't that going to hurt the student's side of the debate?"

"Both sides have been arguing that fact, almost to the point of being at a stalemate. I will say that even though Cadet Matrix has made astounding progress in reformatting viruses into law-abiding citizens, once he graduates, he will always be a Guardian first... and Guardians "mend and defend" by whatever means necessary."

"Will he be testifying to that later on this second?"

Turbo shook his head. "No. Although he has been the one running the program, and overseeing the development of the successful reformats we've had, Cadet Matrix will not be testifying on either side due to a conflict of interest. The evidence of his work will be provided, but it is the students who will be running the debate."

"I see," she said. "Back to your earlier statement, as being a Guardian first, does that mean you have no loyalty to the program as it stands?"

Turbo smiled. "As the Prime Guardian, I have loyalty to all those under my charge, and that means allowing all sides to speak up in their own defense. I see the benefits and challenges and will discuss these in details with my fellow board members until a just decision can be made."

Miss Huffington smiled and looked down at her datapad. "One more question for you before we draw to a close."

"Yes?"

"You have not been the first Guardian I've questioned about the program, and many of the opinions coming in are not very favorable. However, the one Guardian I would have expected to be speaking loudly in favor of the program has been oddly silent." She looked up with a curious stare. "In fact, I'd go so far as to say Guardian Bob has no desire to be a part of this program anymore." She paused. "Do you have any comment on that?"

Turbo remained still in his seat, the smile on his face never moving. "I'm not in the position to speak on the opinions of anyone but myself, especially of my Guardians. However, I do know he is deeply engrossed in several projects that have made his presence around the Academy seem non-existent. I assure you, that is not the case. And if you think he has nothing to say… than you're not listening very well."

Miss Huffington met his smile with one of her own… and a quiet arch of an eyebrow. "Well," she said brightly, "that's all the time I have. Prime Guardian, I thank you for your time and I wish you the best of luck for a favorable outcome in this second's debates."

"Thank you, Miss Huffington. Your interviews are a pleasure, as always."

They smiled for another moment before she reached over to the VidWindow and pressed the small square at the bottom. The recording stopped, and both relaxed in their chairs. Turbo ran a hand over his face as she ran her pale pink fingers through her soft brown hair.

"You didn't answer my question, you know."

Turbo looked up from behind his hand. "I have no clue what you mean."

She tilted her head and gave him a disbelieving stare. "You're getting to be a pretty good actor over there… but not that good."

"I can't believe you asked me about him," Turbo said gruffly.

"I'm not the only one who's noticed his absence on this. I'm speaking on behalf of the people, remember? And they want answers."

Turbo shrugged. "They're going to form their own opinions, anyway."

She nodded. "Yes, they are… based on what the other board members are saying." She leaned forward in her chair, her voice dropping slightly. "You do realize you are the only one on the Board who actually thinks highly about this program?"

Turbo smiled sadly at her. "Which is why I thank you for doing this… anyone else would have picked me apart much worse."

"I didn't see any reason to." Her face fell a little. "But I don't know what you hope to gain from it. My voice is very quiet to the attention other reporters are getting, what with all they drama they're being fed from the students and Guardians alike here."

"I'd have thought my goal was obvious."

"…"

Turbo shook his head. "Don't tell me you're losing your touch, Cookie."

There was a pause, and a gasp. "You're not going to accept the program," she said in disbelief.

"It has nothing to do with me. There are… certain limitations that will prevent it from being accepted by the Board as a whole."

"What limitations?"

"You'll find out, along with everyone else. And you'll understand why the Board will have no choice but to say no."

Cookie Huffington sat back in her chair, a calculating look in her light blue eyes. "And you, the highest ranking supporter for the program, will not lose face with the students and the citizens who want this program brought fully online. Nor will you be held accountable for the anticipated justice system falling apart." She shook her head. "Because if you were against it along with the others, people would think it was rigged to fail." She pinned him with a stare. "Which it was."

Turbo stood and turned away, collecting his things from the table behind him. "Don't look at me like that."

"I would have expected this kind of shady business from a politician… but certainly not from you." She also stood and moved next to him. "Why did you even bother with it if it was meant to fail?"

"Because the times are changing, Cookie," he said as he turned to her. "You know this, as well as I do. And we have to change with them. We can't shut out the dreams of our children… because they are more hopeful than the dreams I ever had as a kid." He smiled when, after a moment, she sighed and nodded in agreement. "I truly believe that this program can work, and it can make a difference. Some second." He shook his head. "But not right now… not so soon after Daemon. There are too many raw wounds out there."

"I don't think that's your call to make," she said quietly.

They were both quiet for a moment, each lost to their own thoughts. Turbo looked back at his companion, a childhood sweetheart who grew up to be a long time friend and trusted confidant. Cookie stood with her arms crossed and a hesitant expression on her face. Her eyes met his and she breathed deep.

"You'd better go," she tilted her head over at the chrono. "The debates are starting soon." He nodded and began moving away. She called his name before he opened the door. "What does Bob have to say about all this?" When silence came back to her, she asked, "I mean, he knows… right?"

"You've heard his opinion on the program, Cookie." He looked back at her. "Loud and clear." He smiled sadly, and departed.

* * *

Enzo glanced at his chrono again. Two microseconds had passed since the debate started, and he was anxiously waiting on word from Pandora on the fate of their beloved program. They had spent microseconds the evening before reviewing Pandora's strongest arguing points, and there were lots of them. By dawn, Enzo felt confident the board could do nothing but accept the program.

Or at least he would have… if he'd had Bob's support. Both Enzo and Pandora were shocked when Bob quietly refused to join them in their supporting arguments. In fact, he'd been refusing a lot of participation with Enzo on the program. Aside from visiting the reformatted viruses and debugging the program every so often, Bob showed little involvement in the program he'd created.

And it worried Enzo.

A noise attracted the boy's attention from his notes. He glanced up from his tablet, his stylus pausing in the air as he stared at the scene before him, trying hard not to laugh. Nimda, a very old yet very spry ex-virus, had been talking about her desire to become a masseuse. Though Enzo had missed the specific exchange of words, it quickly became clear to him that Bob's polite curiosity in her new hobby translated into his volunteering for a demonstration.

The young cadet was pretty sure Guardians weren't supposed to bend that way.

"Nimda," Enzo coughed out, "I don't think Bob's feeling up to a massage today, I'm sure he's pretty bruised from our last sparring session."

"Yes I am," Bob wheezed under the weight of the reformatted sprite sitting on his back, his limbs being pulled at odd angles. "Can I take a rain check?"

The yellow tiger stripped ex-virus immediately released her "client" and scrambled off the bed, quickly pulling Bob up to a sitting position and wrapping her arms tightly around the shocked Guardian. "Oh, Bob, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't know you were in pain! Oh, darling, tell me where it hurts, Mama will make it better!"

"Oh, no, you really don't have to do that!"

"But I am so good with people, Bob, I can help! Tell me where it hurts," Nimda asked as she squeezed him harder, attempting to comfort him in his time of pain.

"Really, Nimda, I'm fine!" Bob gasped.

Enzo looked down at his tablet and scribbled something as his soft voice carried smoothly over the conversation, "I think Bob was complaining earlier about a bruise on his cheek, Nimda." He hid his face behind the tablet as the ex-virus squealed and fawned over the Guardian pinned to her side. He managed a glimpse of the virus pressing her face against Bob's, stroking one cheek as she kissed the other and wailing for her friend to get better soon before Enzo cowered behind his notes. He could feel Bob's glare burning through the screen.

Training would be a nightmare later… but it would be totally worth it.

A chirp drew his eyes to the small table and he picked up his micro-communicator. A message scrolled along the bottom and he frowned at the words. He responded with a few quick taps of his fingers, and instantly a reply came back. "I'll be right back," he muttered and moved out into the hallway, leaving behind two surprised sprites. No sooner had he shut the door than Pandora turned down the end of the hall, unshed tears reflecting in her golden eyes. "User, what happened?" he asked, holding her upper arms that trembled under his hands.

"They want one hundred percent, Enzo," she hissed.

"What?"

"Thirteen of thirteen viruses with documented successful reformatting into data sprites and zero tendencies for violence and malicious intent." She glared at him, her eyes blazing.

Enzo swallowed. "What happens if you don't have that?" he asked quietly.

"What do you think?!" she snapped. "They're going to shut it down, Enzo! They aren't going to bother with a program that may only work on some viruses! It's all or nothing with them!" She flinched when his hands moved up to her shoulders, squeezing them gently as he tried to get her to steady her heaving breaths.

"Pandora-."

"They gave me an extension. I have until the end of the semester break to provide them the results… for all thirteen-." She stopped abruptly when the grip on her shoulders tightened to near pain. "I have to, Enzo."

"No," he answered, his voice low.

Her hands came up and grasped his arms, squeezing them as tightly as his hands squeezed her. "We're going to lose everything, Enzo. The program is going to be deleted if I don't go to C1-."

"I said no!"

Pandora recoiled at the furious look she received. "Enzo-."

"I want this program to work, Pandora," Enzo seethed. "User knows how bad I want that. But you will not go to C1, do you understand?"

She stiffened under his heated glare, his tone making hers frost over in reply. She closed the distance between them and stood to her full height. "No, I don't. You say you want to save this program but you are the one thing hindering it from being successful. Damn it, Enzo, if we don't get that information, all of them are going to be sent to the deletion chamber, don't you get that?!"

"I will do whatever it takes to stop that," Enzo said, his voice raising in anger, "but I will not let you go into that cell, _ever_. I forbid it!"

Pandora's eyes went wide with shock. "You _forbid_ it? Are you freaking kidding me?! I'm not child!"

"No, Pandora, you're a student! You have no authority here, or access without my express permission. You will _not_ go into C1, end of discussion. Is that clear?!"

Pandora took a deep breath and stepped back. Her eyes stayed fixed on him as she growled, "Yes, Cadet Matrix." With a sharp turn on her heel, she stalked out of the holding area.

Enzo watched her leave, and once she rounded the corner, he sank back against the wall. His head dropped into his hands as he breathed, attempting to cool his fevered blood. He stood there for several nanos until he felt calm enough to move. Pushing off from the wall, he turned to go back into the holding cell. He stopped short at Bob's neutral stare, his slender form leaning casually against the closed door.

For a moment, neither said anything. Enzo regained his bearings and said, "I didn't hear you come out."

"I noticed."

"Oh." He scratched his head. "Are we finished already?"

"Unless you want to go in and be coddled by 'Mama,' whose worried sick about you right now, I might add, then yes, we're done."

Enzo winced. "I should let her know I'm okay."

"You can do it tomorrow." Bob raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"

Enzo blushed. "Yes, it was nothing." He turned and walked away.

"Shutting down the program doesn't sound like nothing," Bob said, keeping a steady pace next to the cadet. "And neither does arguing with your girlfriend."

Enzo tripped and regained his footing, scoffing at Bob. "She's not my girlfriend," he said quickly.

"Right," Bob agreed. "My mistake." His tone said otherwise.

"Can we not talk about this here?" Enzo muttered.

Bob looked around the halls at the multiple cameras and nodded. "All right. There's something I'd like to show you, anyway."

* * *

They walked to the other side of the campus, stepping into a building that had once been used as an auditorium. It was refurbished to a large, empty room with a high domed ceiling, a small circular door in the floor at the center, two black VidWindows, and a one way entrance. Enzo was surprised to find the door had been locked with a limited access only code. Bob had ushered Enzo in and shut the door behind them, locking it with a swipe of his hand.

"Where are we?" Enzo asked, his voice echoing off the massive collection of tiles in the room. Bob's footsteps drummed softly through the air as he stepped over to the VidWindows.

"In a portal room. There are no cameras in here, unless brought it," Bob answered. He powered up the screens and turned back to Enzo. "What happened earlier?"

"Is that why you brought me all the way over here, for privacy? We could have gotten that in my dorm room."

Bob shook his head. "No, I brought you here for another reason. But we'll get to that. So… what happened?"

The cadet sighed and looked away. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"About what? The program? Pandora?" Bob paused. "Or about Megabyte?"

The cadet raised his eyes to his mentor briefly. After a moment, he spoke. "They're going to shut us down if we can't prove all of them are viral free, in both code and tendencies. We've proven twelve of them have gone through complete transformations, first having no memories of being viruses, then of showing typical data sprite behaviors. We have all the documentation we need to support the program works."

"But the Collective wants all thirteen."

"And that's the problem." He sighed. "They're not going to get that."

"That's right." Bob tilted his head at Enzo's surprised look. "I brought him here, remember? I put him in C1 myself. He no longer had his code, but he knew who he was, and what he was before he was reformatted. And I know that no matter how many times the Guardians here have tried reformatting him, and they have tried several, the result is always the same. Megabyte still thinks and acts like a virus, he just looks like a data sprite."

Enzo sighed again. "Yeah."

"You've known this from the start, but you still continued with the program."

"It's been successful with everyone else, Bob. I just figured Megabyte was a lost cause. I thought the Collective felt that way, too."

Bob walked over to him and stared at him for a long moment. "You don't seem surprised with the outcome."

"… I guess I'm not."

"But Pandora is?"

Enzo shrugged. "I never told her the whole story. I mean, I told her about him. She knows our history. And she believes I always avoided him because of a grudge…. but I never told her that his reformatting essentially failed."

"Enzo," Bob shook his head, "I don't know a lot about her, or her role in this, but it's clear she's put as much into this as you have. You're going to have to tell her."

The cadet shook his head. "No."

"She already thinks you're turning your back on the program. You should at least tell her the truth before she blames you when the Collective shuts you down."

"No, I can't."

"Enzo, that's a bad idea-."

"I _can't_."

"…Why?"

"He threatened her."

Bob paused. "What?" He stepped closer. "When?"

The cadet spoke quietly, hiding his eyes beneath his bowed head. "I needed new samples of his reformatted code to compare against Morris after he'd been reformatted. It was supposed to be quick, and I knew I wasn't going to acknowledge a single thing he said… and then he started talking about Dot and what his plans had been for their wedding night. His detailed plans." Enzo turned his back and started pacing, his voice becoming bitter. "I should have walked out then, but the things he said… Bob, I wanted to rip his head off. And right when he had me ready to start swinging, he asked about when he would get to meet Pandora… because she sounded so sweet."

He stopped and tilted his head back, letting his eyes close. "I gave it away, Bob," he said softly. "He saw it. He knew she's not just a student to me, and he knew I would make the connection after… after what he'd said about Dot." He swallowed. "I don't care how sprite like he appears to be, he is just as poisonous as when he was viral. And I know he'll hurt her just because of me."

"Enzo," Bob said quietly. "She needs to know the truth."

"You don't understand," Enzo argued. "If I tell her that his reformatting didn't work, she'll just try harder to make it work. She cares so much for them, Bob, and this program is so important to her that she'll do everything she can to "fix" him, because she believes she can do it. And Megabyte will play her like a Midi-File, just for his amusement, you know he will."

For a moment, neither said anything as Bob took the information in. He sighed and rubbed his fingers across his eyes. "So, what, you're just going to continue lying to her then? Hold her back until the program is turned off, when it won't make a difference anymore?" He shook his head. "You risk losing more than just the program if you do that."

"We don't have to lose the program, Bob."

"You already know how the Guardians feel around here, Enzo. It's what they want."

"But you're a Guardian," he pleaded. "Speak up for us. Your voice carries more weight than any of the students. You've seen them, you know the program works!"

"No, Enzo," Bob said with a shake of his head as he moved away.

"Why not? Why are you running away from this?" Silence. "Turbo told me this used to be so damned important to you!"

Bob stopped. "I don't expect you to understand this right now. Yes, there was a time when this program meant more to me than anything, but not anymore. There's too much risk involved… and too much of a price to pay if things go wrong."

"But it works, Bob!" Enzo cried out in shock. "If we get rid of the program, viruses will continue to be deleted! Doesn't that matter to you anymore?"

"I'm still against deletion, but the reformatting program is not the solution."

The cadet stared at his mentor, his violet eyes wide in disbelief. "Are you serious? What, so you get a bloody nose from Megabyte over Mainframe, and now you're going to give up the one chance viruses have to take control of their own lives, to experience freedom from a programming they couldn't choose?!"

Bob turned on Enzo with a scowl. "Watch it, Enzo. That's not a subject you want to get into with me."

"If you back down, Megabyte wins! Again!"

Bob's fist tightened by his side. He glared at the cadet for several tense moments before he spoke in a controlled voice, "I know it looks that simple to you, but there's more to this than just Megabyte."

"Like what?" Enzo challenged.

The Guardian shook his head. "It's not important. I've made my choice, and I've moved on. I brought you here because I'd hoped you would do the same."

Enzo returned Bob's glare. "Well, I've made _my_ choice. I'm not going to give up on my dreams… not like you have." They stared at each other, neither willing to drop hid gaze. Bob was the first to speak, and when he did, it wasn't what Enzo expected.

"I never told you where I'd gone after I left Mainframe."

"Yeah, well, I don't really care about what systems you went to after you left us," he hissed.

Surprisingly, the Guardian smirked at the words before walking over to the VidWindows. "Who said anything about systems?" He pulled up the main screen and clicked through several files until he came to a series of videos. "This room is used for one purpose. Only a few Guardians and Turbo know about it, and right now, I'm the only one who uses it." He looked back at Enzo and gestured toward the screen. When the cadet didn't move, he said gently, "I locked us in here, you know. And I'm not opening the door until you look at this."

Enzo scowled deeply. He was tempted to be as stubborn as possible… but Bob had more hours of experience in that department. Despite the simmering anger Enzo felt over their argument, he grudgingly moved up to the screen to see the clip. It began playing, starting in the room where they were standing. Bob walked into the camera's view and a tear was released from the circular disc in the floor's center. With Glitch's help, he changed it to a portal. Bob tapped his icon twice, and he ReBooted into a thick, black suit with a reptilian like helmet. He raised his arm once more, and a silver beam shot out from his keytool into the portal. In a brilliant flash of color, the portal exploded and expanded to the height of the domed ceiling.

Enzo frowned at the screen. "That's a Web portal." He watched as the camera hovered closer to Bob at his beckoning, and then followed him through the portal. Enzo stood, entranced, as he witnessed for the first time the awesome sight that was the Web. The camera moved around to take in the fiery storm, and to follow a pod of Web Creatures as they swam by, before refocusing on the Guardian. He walked across a rocky terrain towards a collection of buildings in the distance. As the camera moved closer, Enzo could make out a massive bubble around the buildings, and moving about inside, several sprite-like creatures.

"By the User," Enzo breathed. "Bob… is that a system… outside of the Net?!"

"No, but it's something like it," he said with a smile. "It's called a WebSite, a sprite made floating city." He pressed a button on the screen that reduced the picture and pulled up a file with a three dimensional image of something resembling a system. "See how it's split into areas that look like sectors?" he pointed out. "Those are called WebPages, and they're each linked together to create an entire Site."

"And sprites live there?"

"They are learning to, yes. But it's a lot of work. The links to the Pages break easily with the storms, so we are trying to develop a better shield to protect the site."

Enzo turned to Bob, all anger gone in place of curiosity. "I thought the Web was uninhabitable."

"Yes, so did everyone else. But," he said, pulling up the video once more, "the WebSprites found a way to adapt and survive. For hours, they'd moved in pods, drifting across the storm on whatever grounds they could find. The problem was, the storms made the lands very fragile, so they never stayed in one place for long before the ground went out from under them."

"And you went out to find a stable home for them," Enzo said quietly, his eyes never leaving the video as he glimpsed several WebSprites waving at the camera before moving off across the manufactured streets into buildings that served as shops and homes. The normalcy of the video seemed surreal against the swirling background of the storm over the bustling inhabitants of the Site.

"Well, not just me, but yeah. We've made three Sites so far, and a fourth is being created as we speak." The two fell quiet as they watched Bob walk around the Site, stopping and pointing out various buildings and locations of interest, including a local Diner. As the video drew to a close, Bob spoke again. "This has been my new project, Enzo. My new dream. And I'd like you to share it with me."

Enzo turned away from the VidWindow with a confused stare. "What do you mean? I don't know how to build anything like this."

Bob shook his head. "Not build. Guard. The Web is no less dangerous just because a city is built there. They still have tears, and while I haven't seen any games yet, there are many dangerous creatures, and sprites, roaming in the storms. I've already spoken with Turbo about allowing Guardians to serve out in the Web… and to allow cadets to go out there as well, to see if that is somewhere they would want to serve in place of a system."

When the video ended, Bob closed the screen and powered down the VidWindow. He looked at Enzo again and smiled. "I know it's quite a change from what you've been studying here at the Academy, but I'd like you to consider this as an adequate replacement for the reformatting program. You don't have to say yes, if you'd rather stick with the traditional Guardian path, but I think you'd do well here."

Enzo ran his fingers through his hair. "Wow. I don't know what to say right now." He took a breath and looked down. "Except for this. I'm not ready to give up on the program yet." He looked up. "I mean that. I've worked too hard to let this go… I owe it to those sprites down there to fight to the very last." He paused. "I really hope you'll support me on this. You may have let the dream go, Bob, but I haven't. And like you have your reasons to leave it behind… I have mine to stay."

After nanoseconds of silence, and the look of hesitation on Bob's face, Enzo pleaded once more. "Come on, Bob. Didn't anyone ever give you a chance, even when it seemed hopeless?"

Bob looked away and huffed. A quiet laugh left him, and he gave one, slow nod. "All right, Enzo. If you think it's worth the fight then I'll help you." He held up his hand as Enzo opened his mouth. "To a degree. I make no promises I'll argue the board's final decision, but I'll help you and Pandora try to find a way around the one hundred percent requirement. And I'll keep an eye on Pandora, too," he finished quietly. "But," he said holding up a finger, "you have to talk to her." He stopped Enzo's protest with a hand over his mouth. "No argument."

The cadet gave in and nodded. "Thank you," he said when Bob moved his hand.

As they were walking out, Enzo's face fell from content to concern. He slowed down and looked up at Bob. At his questioning stare, he said, "You're going back there after I graduate. To the Web." Bob nodded. "Why?"

"There's a lot of work to finish up out there. It's hard, but it's worth it."

"Is it?"

Bob looked at the cadet as he unlocked the door. "You saw the result. It's absolutely worth it."

"Is that the only reason you're going back there?"

"Well, it is my home, Enzo" he said with a chuckle and stepped outside into the late afternoon sun.

"… No. It's not."

Bob looked back at the boy still standing inside the building, and they stared at each other for a moment. Enzo exited the room, and Bob locked it. Quietly, the two returned to the Academy.

_A/N: … Hi. This chapter was a toughie, and went through several revisions, so please be kind and let me know how it came out. I made it longer to make up for the long wait. __ Hopefully I won't have to make changes to it later on, but that's going to depend on where the muse takes this. Lord, I have some good ideas… but wow, it's going to be a ride. Thanks!_


	6. Choices

**Chapter 6: Choices**

_A/N: Thank you Angelfish for letting me know I posted the wrong chapter. SORRY ABOUT THAT!_

Enzo found her in the reformatting room, reviewing codes and making notes. He paused and smiled. She was chewing on the end of the stylus again, a sign she was worrying over some problem before her. He'd chastised her many times about the little teeth marks in every single one of his scribe utensils, and yet she continued to gnaw away. Typically, a moment like this would be the perfect chance to sneak up and grab her, scaring her out of her deep thoughts and laughing at her angry ranting.

His smile fell. Taking a deep breath, he moved into the room, making enough noise to jar her from her thoughts. He saw her stiffen but not turn. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You are?" she asked lightly, her eyes focused back on her notes. "For what? For yelling? For turning your back on everything we've done? For working with a student whose always arguing with you? That must be exhausting."

"Panda-."

"Or are you apologizing early, for when the program gets shut down because you can't cope with your past? For those sprites who are going to be deleted because you're scared of something that can't hurt you anymore? For all the viruses who might be saved by what we're doing, but will never get a chance because you gave up?"

"I'm not giving up."

"Well, you're not exactly fighting are you?" she argued, her head finally turning to give him a cold stare. "Except with the wrong person."

"I don't want to see you get hurt," Enzo said quietly, dropping his eyes.

"You're hurting me! You're hurting us! Don't you see that?!"

Enzo flinched. After a moment, she huffed and slammed her data pad and stylus on the control panel. Soon, only the sound of their breathing could be heard in the room.

"What are you afraid of, Enzo?" she whispered.

"Losing you," he answered without hesitation. He didn't look up until her hand reached up to caress his cheek before wrapping around to his neck and bringing his forehead to hers. His eyes closed at her gentle touch through the back of his hair.

"I'm not going anywhere, silly," she said, her tone tired but sincere. "And he can't hurt me… or you, anymore. He's no longer viral, remember? Their memories are erased when they are reformatted."

_Not his._ He opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"So why are you really scared?"

"Because…"

She smiled slightly at his hesitation. "Because…?" she encouraged softly.

…_she cares so much for them, Bob, and this program is so important to her that she'll do everything she can to "fix" him… and Megabyte will play her like a Midi-File… you know he will…_

_Enzo… she needs to know the truth…_

… _he threatened her…_

"Because," Enzo said with a breath, "I can't forget what he did to us, and I don't trust him."

Pandora nodded gently against his forehead. "Then let's go see him together, and you don't have to say a word."

"No," Enzo pulled back, his eyes wide. "I know what he's like and what he'll try to do-." The squeeze at the back of his neck made him stop.

"How do you know what he's like now, Enzo? Have you even tried to see him yet?"

_Yes…_ But the words wouldn't come, and Enzo closed his eyes as the fear took over and fed the lie. "No."

"So you've never even given him a chance," she chided gently. Her hand touched his chin and lifted his eyes to hers. "I understand, Enzo. He hurt you worse than I could imagine… but he can't hurt you anymore. I won't let him."

Enzo's heart broke at her words. "Pandora… please don't go see him."

She rolled her eyes and reached down to her left back pocket. Pulling out a white and blue cell block access card stamped with a small black 'S' for student, she tapped him on the forehead with it. "You seem to keep forgetting that I can't see him, not without you. You didn't give me access to his cell, and you won't let anyone else give me access, either, remember?"

"I remember," he said as he watched her toss the card on the panel with her datapad, "but women are tricky… especially you."

She would have laughed at the playful insult, but the seriousness in his eyes washed away any trace of humor. She stared at him, a small frown on her face. "You really are scared, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Her eyebrow arched and she hummed softly to herself. Her gaze shifted to a spot on the wall, and he could see the gears turning in her head. It made Enzo nervous. "All you can see is the destruction he caused…" she said quietly. "So… go home."

"What?"

"Go see your family and how they've flourished. Then, when you come back, we'll go see him together. We'll still have time before my deadline. Its after the semester break, remember?" She smiled at him, the solution satisfactory for her, until she saw the hesitation on his face. "What?"

"Um… about Mainframe…"

"You did tell Bob you were going back to Mainframe during the break, didn't you?"

"Well… uh…"

Her eyes went wide. "Enzo, you haven't told him?"

"I haven't quite gotten around to it yet."

"Haven't quite… what? I don't understand. He should have been asking you about this cycles ago, the break starts in two seconds-." She stopped abruptly, her mouth dropping open. "He doesn't know about the policy, does he?" When Enzo didn't answer, she grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him. "Enzo… he's going to delete you."

He dropped his head into his hand, rubbing at his eyes with a sigh. "I've had other things on my mind, Panda. I mean, it's not that big of a deal-."

"By the User, you're a dipswitch," she said in exasperation. She turned and leaned on the panel, shaking her head. "Go, talk to him, before you miss your chance to go home."

"I don't need to go, Panda-."

"Enzo, you haven't seen Dot in hours. You owe it to her to see her before you get assigned somewhere after graduation."

The cadet sighed and leaned against the panel with her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think I'll cause more harm than good if I go. Besides," he said with a shrug, "before Bob showed up, I wasn't even planning on going."

"That's because you wouldn't have been allowed, but now you can. And," she said, "maybe those two can patch things up."

Enzo scoffed. "Yeah, right. I almost got myself deleted the last time I tried to get them to make up after their last fight. This time, it might actually happen."

"If Bob finds out from someone else about the Academy policy, I guarantee you, it'll happen." She chuckled softly as Enzo groaned. "You know I'm right."

"I know."

"Then," she whispered as she moved around in front of him, placing her hands on the panel around him, effectively blocking him in place, "you also know that I'm right when I say that after you go home and see everyone happy and safe, you'll come back renewed to fight for this program. And you won't be scared of going to see Megabyte anymore."

A shadow passed over Enzo's face, but before he could argue, she leaned forward and kissed him. He pulled away slightly, looking between her lips and her eyes, and she stole his lips once more. He gave into her demands, holding her close as her right hand came up to hold his head before trailing up and down his back in a gentle caress. He pulled away again, breathing slightly harder than before as he whispered against her lips, "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"Is this an apology kiss?" At his nod, she smiled wickedly and whispered, "Than I think you can do better." He indulged, drawing a throaty moan from her. Enzo could feel his head spinning with the taste and touch of her, loving how he could simply get lost in the moment with her. He allowed himself the small luxury of banishing everything from his mind save her lips caressing his and her hands moving along his body. It wasn't until a playful squeeze near his bottom made him break the kiss with a squawk of surprise. She laughed at him.

"Apology accepted."

"Oh, was that all it took?" Enzo teased.

"Pretty much." She smiled and backed away, jerking her head towards the door. "Now you better go find Bob before trouble finds you. I need to get back to work."

"So you kiss me and kick me out… how rude."

"It's just business, babe."

"Ouch!"

She laughed and pushed him playfully towards the door. "Out! Come find me before you leave, ok?"

Enzo reached out and caressed her face before pulling her in for a quick kiss. "I promise. And… thanks."

"You're welcome," she whispered against her lips. "Go. And good luck."

"Right," Enzo said, taking a deep breath for heading out in search of his mentor.

The young student turned back to the control panel, retrieving her datapad and stylus in her left hand. She looked up at the coded information she'd been reviewing earlier and smiled. Closing the program down, she turned and exited the reformatting room, but not before tucking away the white and blue access card into her back pocket, her finger tracing over the small black 'C'.

* * *

His chrono beeped. Another miscrosecond had passed, and still Bob didn't move. A slight smile cracked the side of his lips as he remembered a time when he couldn't sit still for more than a few nanos at a time, always needing to be on the move. Now, he had had remained standing in the same spot, leaning against the bare white wall, arms crossed and staring ahead at the door without making a sound for quite sometime.

He didn't know why he came here specifically. The top of the tower would have been the obvious spot, out of sight and out of mind, but his feet had drawn him here. His feet, his memories… and Enzo's words.

_…it's my home…_

_ …no, it isn't…_

Bob sighed softly. What was he supposed to say to that?

_Nothing, _he answered himself._ Just like you say to everything else._

Bob stared at the door. To an onlooker, he was casual, relaxed, but inside, he was fighting a losing battle. Pain, anger, blame, sorrow, all wrestling to be released and wreak havoc on the sprite locked on the other side of the cell door. Everything he had worked so hard for, everything that used to give him purpose, all scattered to the Net by the lone sprite who had become Bob's arch-nemesis.

_And whose fault is that, Bob?_

The Guardian felt his hands tighten on his arms. He took a deep breath and relaxed, closing his eyes to realign himself to the reason he was standing there. Direction. Purpose. Fortitude.

Enzo needed help… and so did the others who so firmly believed in the reformatting program. _His_ program. And yet, he wanted nothing more than to just slip away back into the Web where he could forget about his dreams… and his mistakes. And that was the heart of it, wasn't it?

All Guardians made mistakes. He could live with that. It was the price others paid that he couldn't stomach anymore.

_But won't this program stop that? Eradicate viral strains… eradicate infection… eradicate pain and suffering brought on by those programmed to terrorize… That was the point all along, right?_

It seemed so simple. In essence, it really was. The decision should have been no contest.

So why did it scare the Dell out of him?

'_Decided yet?'_

Bob looked down at his arm, his eyes wide with surprise at the soft chirp that pulled him from his thoughts. He smiled at Glitch, who hadn't said a word while Bob brooded… until just the right moment, of course. He used to find it creepy how in tune Glitch was with his feelings, but now it simply comforted him when Bob felt lost.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Glitch," he said quietly as he placed his hand on the silver plate face.

'_When has that ever stopped you before?'_

Bob closed his eyes and chuckled softly as he contemplated the question. Flashes of disastrous results, great and small, filled his head. "User… I was reckless, wasn't I?"

'_And very successful at it, I might add.'_

Bob's face fell as he thought about just how successfully reckless he had been in Mainframe. The memories came back, and with it, the fear. Suddenly, those humorous moments of being wild and carefree didn't hold as much joy.

'_How many battles did you win, Bob?'_ The Guardian tilted his head as he looked at Glitch. _'How many lives did you save, from Megabyte, from Hex, from the Games, from the Web, from Daemon? How many reckless decisions did you make that brought victory?'_

Bob opened his mouth to speak, but a soft trill from Glitch cut him off. _'More than the number of times you lost. But it's hard to see those victories if you only focus on the losses.'_

"It's hard to focus on anything else when I've caused so much pain."

'_So how are you going to fix it?'_

His mind flashed to the Web. It was his security net… and the guaranteed protection from hurting anyone else.

'_The problem with running away is you have to take yourself with you.'_

Bob frowned, then froze. Glitch's words ran through his head, over and over, confusing and yet so perfectly clear. The answer didn't lie in the Web… and the problem didn't lie in Mainframe. But Glitch was right. Running away wouldn't solve anything. And he'd let his fear drive him for far too long. He pushed away from the wall and began heading out of the cell block, away from Megabyte and the painful memories with a new purpose: to overcome the fear that had been holding him back.

Himself.

* * *

"I need to see him."

"He's in the middle of a meeting."

"It'll only take nano."

"Wait, 452, I can't-."

"Don't worry, I got it." Bob brushed past the secretary and opened the door, catching sight of the Prime Guardian surrounded by VidWindows and looking rather worn out. Bob grimaced as he shut the door on the still protesting assistant. While being Prime Guardian had its perks, being stuck in meetings was not one of them.

He waved at Turbo as he walked towards the desk, and his friend looked almost relieved at the prospect of having a legitimate escape. He quickly cut off one of the Collective counsel members, politely interrupting to claim being needed for a student emergency. He promised to return shortly, and quickly blanked out all of the screens.

"Thank the User you came in."

"Rough second?" Bob quipped.

"No, average second," Turbo answered while pulling out a bottle of water and a small pill bottle. "Extraordinary headache." He popped two and rubbed his eyes. "Do yourself a favor Bob, don't get promoted."

"Don't worry, that's not what I came in here for."

Turbo looked up as he took another swallow. "Right. What's up?"

"I want to testify on behalf of the program."

Turbo choked on his water. "What?" he coughed.

"I know what you're thinking… but I have to give this a chance. Enzo's worked so hard on this, and he really believes in it… and I'm the best support he has to get the board's attention."

"Bob," Turbo said, leaning forward in his chair and dropping his voice, "you already know what the board is going to say."

"About having twelve of twelve reformatted viruses, yes," Bob argued. "But I know I can change their minds. I just need some time to get everything together, and with the break coming up, Enzo and I can work undisturbed."

Turbo frowned. "You're working over the break?"

Bob shrugged. "Why not?"

"I assumed Enzo was going to try going home." Turbo looked closely at him. "He hasn't been back to Mainframe in three hours. Didn't he tell you?"

The answer brought Bob up short. "No, he didn't." He shook his head. "But if he wants to go, then I'm fine with that. I'll take care of things here-."

"It doesn't work like that, Bob," Turbo cut him off, "not anymore. Not since Daemon."

"What do you mean?"

"Cadets can't travel unless escorted by their mentor, or a Guardian willing to go with."

Bob's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"After Daemon's infection left many of the cadets stranded outside of the Supercomputer, the Collective made it policy in case the Supercomputer ever becomes jeopardized again, leaving partially trained Guardians adrift in the Net." Turbo stared at Bob. "You didn't know?"

Bob's eyes dropped to the floor. "No."

"And Enzo didn't tell you."

A heavy sigh. "No. But I think he tried to."

"He probably thinks you're going to tell him no. Are you?"

Bob looked up and stared out the window. "Why hasn't he gone home in three hours?" he asked instead.

"Enzo will tell you because he didn't want to. I know he never asked anyone… and no one offered."

Bob shook his head. He rubbed his hand across his face before he looked back at Turbo once more. "What arrangements do I need to make?"

The Prime Guardian shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. You just take care of him… and yourself," he added gently.

"It's only for a cycle, right?" Bob asked lightly. "How bad can it be?" He smiled at Turbo and wished he felt as confident as he sounded.

_A/N: Hi all! Hope you're all doing well. I am ridiculously busy with work, but here is the next installment. I do hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you are looking forward to the next chapter. __ I know I am. As for when it will be out, I can no longer guarantee the every other Sunday rule, but I will do my best to stick to that. Thanks for reading! _


	7. Homecoming

**Chapter 7: Homecoming**

_This chapter is dedicated to Jenna, Deby, Khaled, and Natalie, and all of those who continue to support me on this journey. Thank you for your encouraging words, and for clicking the follow/favorite button! _

By the end of the second, Enzo's initial confidence to talk to Bob about Mainframe had vanished… much like the Guardian he was trying to find. Enzo had climbed over every meter of the Academy, and still the silver haired mentor was no where to be found. As the microseconds passed by, the doubts slid back into place, reaffirming his decision to forget about the whole trip home.

He hadn't been planning on it, anyway. Even after he and Bob reconciled their differences, he didn't intend on going back to Mainframe. Enzo grimaced as he stepped into his dorm room. He didn't intend to… but a part of him still wanted to go home.

The other part dreaded the fact. And that was the problem, wasn't it?

"Welcome back."

Enzo gasped and grabbed the doorknob before he fell over. Smacking the wall, he hit the light switch and glared at Bob. "Don't do that!" The Guardian shrugged and leaned more casually in the chair, his arms and ankles crossed while his face remained neutral. His grin, so usually paired with such antics, was noticeably absent. It made Enzo more than a little uncomfortable. "You're here late," he commented to break the odd silence.

It didn't work. Bob continued to watch him, the steady gaze completely unreadable. It made the cadet fidget nervously. "Um… is something wrong?"

"You tell me."

Enzo frowned. "I'm fine, thanks. Just… out to clear my head. Been thinking a lot. It's dangerous," he joked.

"Something you want to talk about?"

Enzo shook his head and sat on the bed. He began removing his boots, focusing on the laces instead of on the sprite in his room. "Not anything so pressing you need to stay up. Just worried about the Board, you know?"

He waited for Bob to say something. He moved his boots to the foot of the bed and sat there staring at the floor. Every so often, he glanced up, but Bob didn't move. The weight of his stare was enough to make him want to crawl under the bed.

The silence finally got to him. "What?" he blurted.

"When were you going to tell me about Mainframe?"

_Shift._ "What about it?" he asked carefully.

"Are we really going to play this game?"

Enzo sighed. "Who told you?"

"Turbo did, when I told him I was going to testify for the program."

Enzo's head shot up, his eyes wide. "Really?! All right, I knew you'd come through for-!" He stopped at Bob's pointed stare.

"Don't change the subject. You should have told me about this cycles ago."

Enzo looked away. "I know." He picked at a thread on his comforter. "I just… it's not a big deal."

"Turbo says you haven't been home in three hours." When the cadet didn't speak, he asked, "When's the last time you talked to Dot?"

"A couple minutes ago, I think."

"You think?"

Enzo shrugged. "She's busy, I don't like bothering her."

"You can't be serious." He uncrossed his body and leaned forward. "You're her baby brother; I guarantee she'd rather talk to you than be stuck in meetings all day."

"I'm one of her baby brothers," he said shortly, "and it's not like we have that much in common anymore."

After a moment, Bob said, "Did you have a fight?"

"No. Not really."

"So why haven't you been home in so long?"

"I like it here."

"Better than being with your family?"

"Uh-huh."

Bob leaned back with a sigh. "Well, I guess that makes sense, I mean, with you being Mr. Popularity among the cadets and the Guardians here. Your winning personality has really won over the masses."

Enzo glared at Bob before huffing in frustration, jumping to his feet and walking away from the Guardian. He'd seen the look in Bob's eyes, the victory at touching a nerve sensitive enough for Enzo to give himself away. Of course, he wasn't sure if he was more upset with Bob's honesty, as cutting as it was, or the fact that he thought he could actually avoid this conversation all together.

Enzo snorted to himself. One would think he'd have learned by now…

"Enzo-."

"We didn't fight," the teenager cut him off. "We just… something changed, when I left." He turned around and leaned against the wall, his eyes fixated on the floor at his feet. "She never said anything, but then again, she probably never would. At first I thought she just didn't want me to leave… but now I think she just didn't want me to come here." He rubbed his hand over his tired eyes. "I don't think she wanted me to be a Guardian."

"She always worried about that," Bob said quietly, "but only because she always worried about you. Especially after Matrix…"

"I don't think Matrix was the reason she was against it, Bob." He looked up, but Bob's gaze was now focused on his hands clasped across his knees, his face drawn in thought. "I'm sure she's proud of me, Bob. That's just who she is, but-."

"But you followed in my footsteps, even after everything that happened," Bob finished, "and it probably hurts her to see that."

"And now you coming home with me…" Enzo trailed off. "How would I even begin to tell her?"

"Turbo's taking care of that. As for me… I don't really matter." He held up his hand when Enzo started to argue. "I'm not going there to spend time with your family, Enzo. You are. This is about you and Dot and everyone else in Mainframe. You know after graduation you could be sent straight to a system. It could be minutes or hours before you get to go home again."

The young Matrix scoffed after a moment. "So, what, you're just going to hide in the Principal's Office the whole time?"

"Let's just say I'll be otherwise engaged," Bob said lightly. "Look, Enzo, I'm only going as a precautionary measure, you know this. I don't have to be by your side the entire time, you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself."

"And what about Dot?"

Bob shrugged. "She'll be so busy with you she won't even know I'm there."

"I doubt that."

"One can hope."

Enzo shook his head. "I don't like it, Bob. I love my sister to deletion, but I'm afraid this might hurt her worse." He looked at Bob. "And you. I don't want that."

The Guardian watched Enzo for a nano before standing up and stepping in front of the cadet. Placing his hands on his shoulders, he said, "Right now, the only one who's going to end up getting hurt is you, if you don't go. I can't allow that. You need to be with your family. Dot would agree. So, because I'm the bigger one-."

"-Not by much-."

"-and older one," the Guardian continued sternly, ignoring the playful jab, "I get the final say. We're going."

The cadet stared up at is mentor, his mouth moving like he wanted to argue. His shoulders slumped. With a sigh, he nodded in acceptance.

"Good." Bob clapped his shoulder and made his way to the door. "Now get some sleep, we leave in the morning."

"Right-wait, what?" Enzo looked at Bob in confusion. "The break doesn't start for another second."

"Well, seeing you haven't been home in so long, the Prime Guardian made a special allowance for you to go a second early." Bob gave the cadet a smirk over his shoulder. "It's good to have friends in high places. Portal room, 0700, ready to go."

Enzo's mouth opened and closed before he managed to spit out, "Yes, Sir." He stared as Bob closed the door, too surprised by the turn of events to know what to do next. Then it hit him. He glanced around the room and quickly set to packing, allowing himself to enjoy the excitement of going home again… and trying adamantly to ignore the nervous twitter in his stomach at the events bound to unfold.

* * *

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

Bob glanced at Turbo before refocusing his attention to the portal generator. He cleared his throat. "Like a logarithm."

Turbo snorted. "You didn't shut your eyes once, did you?"

The room brightened and crackled as the tear was released from its cage. The technicians worked at their consoles to stabilize it before applying the necessary codes to form the portal to Mainframe. Off to the side, a Guardian was briefing Enzo on the rules and expectations of a Cadet away from the academy. The young Matrix was watching the older sprite, but his feet shuffled and his hands twitched restlessly from side to side. Bob smiled, knowing it was taking all the boys energy not to be bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. It reminded Bob of when Enzo was still a child. He was glad to see Enzo hadn't completely grown up… and he hoped he never would.

"You told her we were coming?" Bob asked, ignoring Turbo's last comment. He nodded, and Bob practically growled at him. "I saw that."

The Prime Guardian looked away from the tear in surprise. "What?"

"Your eye twitched. You're hiding something."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Turbo answered flatly, looking back at the portal generator as the tear flashed and formed the perfect silver sphere encasing the hovering system. "Looks like it's time for you to go."

Bob narrowed his eyes, ready to call Turbo on his poor attempt at bluffing, when Enzo called out to him. The Guardian looked at the cadet, his body shuffling from side to side as he waited for Bob to join him. He'd already sent the bags through, and now waited respectfully for his escort. Bob chuckled at Enzo's failed attempt of looking casual about going home, his face almost straining to stay impassive. Bob knew better… and Enzo probably knew that.

But it was still fun to see.

Bob glanced at Turbo, frowning as he was already heading out the door. _Guess that conversation is over._ Shaking his head, Bob smiled at Enzo and walked up to him. "Ready to go, Cadet?"

The young Matrix shrugged. "I guess."

Bob placed his hand on Enzo's shoulder. "You're a terrible liar," he laughed, before shoving him into the portal. The boy's squawk of surprise was lost in the giant bubble. When the ripples smoothed out, Bob stared at the system beyond for just a moment. Everything looked the same… He took a breath and stepped through.

It always felt like stepping through a wall of water, but instead of the viscous liquid seeping into his skin, it expanded and contracted around him. For a nano everything was still and mute, his body hovering a world of silver, before his senses were slammed once again with the forward movement of time. It was disorienting, and no matter how many times he did it, he could never get rid of that queasy feeling in his stomach. He didn't stumble as he placed his feet on solid ground once more, but he did blink rapidly at the sudden brightness of the world around him, and his head hurt from the rush of noise.

He didn't need his eyesight to recognize where the portal had dropped them. The air was heavy with the scent of cooked meat and sweet desserts, topped off with the unique vanilla mint flavor that was the signature ingredient in the Diner's original energy shakes. The air buzzed with many voices chattering at once, and smelled slightly smoky from a charcoal grill nearby. Opening his eyes, Bob took in the large gathering outside of Dot's Diner.

"Wow."

Gathering was the wrong term to use. Festival was more appropriate. It was reminiscent of Enzo's first birthday, times ten. Stalls were lined up all the way down the street, sprites and binomes enticing passersby with challenging games or rare items for purchase. Music echoed over the laughs and screams of passengers on the various rides down the block, and Bob spotted the old stage where he and Megabyte performed their dueling guitar battle. The memory was bittersweet.

The portal closed behind Bob and he looked over at the Diner, the sign overshadowed by a huge banner that read, "Welcome Home, Enzo!" in bright red and yellow coloring. Through the crowd around him, he could barely make out the green haired Cadet encased in a group of sprites and binomes hugging him and dragging him towards the Diner. He couldn't make out specifically who it was, though he thought he caught a glimpse of aquamarine hair shining in the sunlight.

A rock settled in his stomach. He knew he should approach the Diner, should make his presence known and greet his friends, but his feet refused to move. His fists tightened at his sides briefly before he rubbed them against his pants, trying to dry them. He took a breath and let it out in a puff of nervous laughter.

This was ridiculous. Everyone knew he was coming, they expected him to be with Enzo. How would that look if he arrived and ran? And yet, the chance to disappear in the crowd and not bother Enzo during his homecoming was almost too convenient of an opportunity.

It was the perfect out to avoid seeing her. Everyone would be too busy to notice, maybe even Enzo would forget...

Bob turned, making his way across the street towards Kits Sector, nodding every so often at those who acknowledged him. No one seemed to recognize him, the populace having grown since Daemon's fall, and Bob felt himself start to relax. It was the right decision: give them all the second together, and deal with the awkward greetings tomorrow. At least it would give him time to prepare-.

"Bob?!"

The Guardian froze. The voice, so familiar, made Bob's shoulders tense in apprehension. He didn't want to turn, he didn't want to face the truth, but he had been caught… and by the one sprite he wanted to avoid the most right now.

"Bob! It _is_ you!" The voice was full of emotion, the words ending on a near sob as the rapid smack of feet against the pavement made Bob turn and grunt with the force of the body latching onto him. "We've missed you so much! We thought you were gone forever!"

Bob sighed. "Hi, Mike."

The TV looked up at him from around his knees with wide, watery eyes. "Mainframe hasn't been the same without you! I've been so lonely without someone to advertise to, and Matrix has tried to delete me so many times my memory banks are full!" He dropped his head and wailed, pressing his screen into Bob's knees as he nuzzled against him. "Please tell us you're here to stay, _please_!"

"Mike," Bob ground out as he tried to pry the gold sprite from his legs, "I'm only visiting, you know that."

The TV almost shrieked in abject horror. "You're not staying?! But-but-but, you're home!"

Bob rolled his eyes at the theatrics, trying to hide the smile before Mike saw it. "Come on, Mike, you already have a Guardian. Two would be a bit crowded." He yanked Mike up by one arm and held him at eye level. "Now, are you going to calm down, or am I going to have to get the screwdriver-?" Bob stopped abruptly as he spotted something in the sprite's hand. "What is that?"

Mike blinked and looked at his hand, before thrusting the microphone in his face. "Anything to say to the viewers at home?"

Bob looked over to his right where a number of cameras were focused on him. His face went white before he turned back and glared at the TV. "Mike!"

He wiggled out of the Guardian's grasp and dropped lightly to the ground. "You heard it here first, ladies and gentleman!" Mike called out in his deep announcer's voice. "Bob is back in Mainframe! Why is he here? How long will he stay? Will he and Dot reconcile their lost love?!"

_"Mike!"_

"Find out the full story at 11, now back to Glenn with the weather-ahh!" Mike yelped as he was pulled up in front of Bob's fuming face.

"You better erase that, Mike!" Bob snapped.

The TV blinked at him before doing a one armed shrug. "But we were live."

Bob's face flashed with shock and he looked to the camera crew who was putting the gear away and chatting about nothing. "That was…" Bob's voice trailed off before he grabbed the TV with both hands and shook him. "That was live?! You are so deleted!"

Mike screamed and frantically waved his hands in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, wait! Why? What did I do?!"

"Don't lie, you knew I was coming," Bob yelled. "You set this up, didn't you-?"

"I didn't!" Mike shrilled, "I didn't know anything, I just saw you, I swear!"

"Oh, like you just conveniently showed up when I did, huh?"

"Yes!"

Bob glared at the TV, looking for the tell tale signs that he was lying… and was confused when he didn't see them. Then, his question popped into his mind. Bob brought Mike's face close to his. "What did you mean when you asked why I was here?"

"Umm… because I don't know why you're here?" Mike asked slowly, his eyes shifting left and right.

"Turbo told Dot I was coming with Enzo- what?" he paused when Mike's eyes went wide.

"That was you!" he gasped. "Oh!"

"What?"

"Turbo said a Guardian was coming with Enzo, he never said it was you!"

Bob's jaw tightened. _I'm gonna erase him when I get back to the Supercomputer, Prime Guardian or not._

Mike gasped again. "Dot doesn't know you're here! Oh, this is gonna be good-ack!" Mike choked around Bob's hand.

"Mike, if you value your life, you're going to be quiet. Right now." The TV nodded furiously and Bob dropped him on the ground once more. The Guardian paced as he gathered his thoughts. "All right," he sighed, rubbing his fingers across his eyes. "This is what we're going to do. Dot probably didn't see the clip. She's too busy with Enzo, right?"

"Sure, but-."

"So, you're going to avoid her and everyone else for the rest of the second, and not say a word about this to anyone. Understand?"

"Um, yes, but-."

"And I mean not a word, because you can't keep a secret if your life depended on it. In the meantime I need a place to stay, so I need to talk to Phong. Can you find out where he is right now?"

"Uh, yep," Mike said shortly. "He's there," the TV pointed straight ahead of him, "with everyone else."

Bob stopped pacing and turned, following Mike's finger. Among the throng of pedestrians touring the wares and entertainment, Phong stared gaping at Bob. But Bob barely noticed the wise, old sprite, his presence quickly overshadowed by the stunned faces of his friends, all standing in open mouthed shock around the young Cadet Matrix.

In that sea of surprise, Bob's eyes automatically honed in on one face, on one set of eyes that still took his breath away. He froze, rooted in place by the weight of that beautiful stare. The moment had come, the one he'd dreamt of more times than he cared to admit, the one that would answer all his questions. It was that first look shared after 5 hours…

And Dot did not look happy.

_A/N: Hi all! I am SOOOO sorry for the long wait. My muse has completely pulled me into a whole new field of fan fiction, and it left this story to shrivel up and die. Luckily, my friend and I are now 'sprinting' buddies, so we spend an hour every few days to focus solely on writing, supporting each other along the way. It's really helped me to get back on track, and I'm motivated once more for this work! Whoo! _

_How frequent will the updates be? Well, I'm not going to lie, I have no clue. But I do feel a nice little pull once more for ReBoot, so there should not be such a large dry spell for some time. _

_Am I still pursuing other fanfiction? Yes, but I will not abandon this story. I give you my word. I have too much respect for all of you who take the time to read, review, favorite, and follow, because without you guys, I wouldn't get the warm fuzzies that help me deal with real life when real life sucks. So, keep the comments coming, but don't fret: this story will come to a close. Preferably before Christmas. And ActiveX isn't forgotten either. :) _


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